The New Klie-nt
by Anakin80042
Summary: "Well, you have some explaining to do." "Wha-me!" Wright's eye ticked, "mind telling me why your ass cost 5 million coins?" "Really? Do you want to know? You weren't that interested before…" Klein looked embarrassed, or terrified. Probably both. "Before I found out that one of the most active GM'S in the game is after you? Of course I'm interested you idiot!" (self-inserted OC)
1. Chapter 1: The New Klie-nt

**Disclaimer: I do not own some of the characters in this story, and I do not own Sword Art Online. They are all the works of Reki Kawahara, and all credit goes to him.**

 **Enjoy**

* * *

The new Klein-ent

A gentle breeze flew through the city of coal. Literally, the place was called Coal. Composed of mostly soot, stone, and wood, the buildings stood tall-crushed against each other like samie twins. Huddeled inside them were the faces of tired NPC, whose life was hell compared to the players who played it for fun. It was ironic, then, that the roads running like veins within the town were as big as any other city. Anyone strolling through them wouldn't notice this thought-the whole place was packed to the nose-bleed section with players. Slyphs, Salamanders, Leprechauns, the roads were more colorful than the houses. Arguably, this was because it was so close to the mountains. A neutral-territory town that provided rest for the journey to the World Tree? No Slyph could pass it up. And neither could Klein. He was running through its crowded streets: jostling players aside, constantly checking his flank for his pursuers.

He couldn't fight them-they outnumbered him 10 to 1. What's worse, based on their guild's dress code, they could hide better than an underground Tarrasque (or, something else). So he just had to find somewhere to hide; someplace where they would miss him, or where they would have to reveal themselves.

Turning across a final corner, he saw a lone blacksmith shop. It looked like a typical village hut, with the exception of a chimney pouring thick smoke at the top of it. On the door, a sign read "open", next to a long-rusted name plate, "Wright, available bounty hunter!" Considering his circumstances, it fit his needs, and it was empty. A perfect place to wait out this pursuers. Glancing over his shoulders, Klein walked into the empty shop.

Wright's store barely had any customers. He didn't know if it was because his house looked 'average,' or because the blacksmith sign wasn't large enough, but business was usually slow. No matter where he went, Sylph, Salamander, heck, even around the world tree, business rarely came to him. Maybe it was because of its design; some customers came in, asking if he could 'tailor their clothes,' 'fill their beers,' or just thought he was an NPC. Yet the nostalgia the house gave just made him keep the design. Besides, the basement it provided gave him just enough space for him to work on spells and tools, especially on his "masterpiece": Kaleidoscope.

So it was a surprise when he heard the front door's bell ring. Too bad. He was working on Kaleidoscope's draugr-skinned sheath. He was still trying to figure out how to make it fit. Who knew it was hard to sculpt the undead's skin? With a reluctant sigh, he placed the sword in his inventory, and went out to greet this customer.

The customer, called "Klein" (unusual) was hiding behind a stack of maces. He was wielding a fearsome long sword and dressed like he was ready for the world's deadliest slumber party-being covered in red silk and everything. So far, his attention seemed to be directly on the front door-warily watching through its windows for any sign of movement.

Unfortunately, he wasn't paying attention to what was behind him.

"What's up?" With a shriek of surprise, Klein swung his sword at him. Wright ducked, then gave a satisfying CRUNCH kick to his underside. The poor player fell like a dead fish to the ground.

"What the hell was that for!" He asked

"Me! I could ask you the same question!"

"Okay, okay, sorry. I thought this house was abandoned, or something. From the outside, the whole place looked deserted, you know?"  
Wright glared at him, "I could still kick you."  
"NO! I actually have a much better proposition," Klein brushed the dust off his clothes as he stood up. "But first, introductions. I am Klein, a famous samurai warrior!" The guy began to flex in mock-fashion.

"Really, a samurai?" He couldn't resist a facepalm, "how much do you know about samurai?"

"Well, that they had a code…"

"Called Bushido,"

"They held a sword,"

"3 swords, actually. One of the swords was used to kill themselves." Klein looked at him, his jaw slack.

"Kill themselves?"

"Yes. It was called seppuku. They would stab themselves with a specially-made knife, right through the heart, whenever they dishonored themselves," Wright couldn't resist leaning in closer, "Which just happened a minute ago…." A heavy lump started to form in Klein's throat.

"Okay, moving on!" Klein rubbed his hands anxiously, "what's your name?'

Honestly, the whole thing felt pointless, what with their player icons above their heads. But basic courtesy still applied to virtual reality, he guessed.

"My name's Wright, expert blacksmith and sword fighter"

"Really? Are you in any guilds?"

"Well," Wright's soot-filled hands nervously brushed his hair, "Not really, but I'm especially good at fighting monsters!"

"Alright, Wright!" Klein said. "I just need your help for a while. You're a bounty hunter, right?"

"More like a service provider, really." He explained. "Except, the last time I was 'open for service', some girl took it the wrong way and tried... getting laid. Thank goodness for parental controls." Was it Wright's imagination, or did Klein actually smile at that image? "Anyway, what do you need from me?"

"Well. I was asking if you could protect me? Until I reach Legrue?'

"Protect you? You do know what game we're in, right?"  
"Yes. It's just that, I have this bounty on my head and everything, and I have to be somewhere quick."

"Wait a second, you have a bounty on you? How much?" Now Wright was intrigued.

"Not Important." It obviously was if this 'master samurai' needed help from some stranger like him.

"Sure. So I take you Legrue, which is a 10-minute flight from here, I kick some butt, you pay me, and everyone's happy." He knew it was a mistake not to look up the bounty on this guy, but Wright didn't care anyway. This was the most exciting thing that had happened in a while, and he wasn't going to greedily pass up it for some cash. "We can talk money on the way. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll go get geared up."

"Yeah, you go do that, I'll go outside. Need some fresh air from all the dust here…" Wright made the motion of kicking at Klein again, to which he yelped and ran out the door. Chuckling, Wright went to go get his stuff.

What did he need? Wright always wore light orange Helheim-steel. It was strong and light enough for his needs (especially stylish). His health and mana potions were a standard for him; no trouble there. That just left his choice of weapons. He surveyed the basement. It was filled with hours of works on spells, weapons, and armor. Mainly weapons, which were his forte. They filled the room, from broken axes to scythes covered in colorful auras. They were meant to be sold, but business was usually slow, so they ended up being unused. He could've used any number of them, and he sometimes did, out of boredom, but he only had two main weapons. One of which was always equipped in his inventory, the other, Kaleidoscope, he already had equipped. But there was something missing…

Two nerves made a connection in his brain, and he realized that he had forgotten Kaleidoscope's sheath.

Nearby the cobblestone furnace, the massive horse-leather object hung from the rank like a drunk man. The sheath was full of scratches, burns, and holes. Sure, it wasn't the prettiest, sturdiest, or most comfortable sheathe, but it was the only one that fit Kaleidoscope. His other option was the Draugr sheath he was working on. Right now, the lower end of it was a tattered mess; it hadn't been sewed together yet. On second thought, maybe he should wear Kaleidoscope on his back, just like that guy, Gatso, from the _Berserk_ manga.

No, that could mess up his flight, or result in him impaling himself every time he bent over backward. Still it was worth a shot.

Before he could decide, he heard a high pitch scream from outside. In a rush, he left the sheath behind, and he ran out the basement. He slammed open the front door, and was greeted by a group of…oh shoot. Oh no.

A group of role players. It was easy to tell; they all dressed in knight-like silver armor. In contrast to his plain-looking orange armor, theirs had a more complex and medieval design. On their chest plates, they wore the symbol of a proud golden eagle; its fierce jaws threatening to come to life. Like any proper RP player, they used generic swords, axes, and books seaming with ancient magic. Wright didn't mind the combat style RP player's chose-they could still put up a fight. It was just, their _accent._ The supposed leader was the perfect reason why they were so annoying. Towering above them all, he wore a brass-colored armor with high shoulder guards. The face of a golden eagle (it was the _color_ gold) jutted out of his breastplate, its ruby eyes and closed mouth giving the creature a gentle manner. He had on a red cape that furled along with the wind, revealing the 2-handed longsword by his waist. He looked like a true work of Greek art (minus the nudity).

But, dammit, the way they talked.

"Push, squire, attack the enemy with all you have!" yelled the leader, brimming with more gusto than any male voice actor could ever achieve.

He looked in the direction of the 'squire,' and found a teenage-sized player gutting Klein through the heart with a spear. Likewise, Klein had his sword stuck through the squire's chest. From the look of both player's health bars, it was likely the squire's scream was the one he had heard. "For god's sake, squire, pusheth him with a force of a thousand men! Send the enemy flying to the grave!" Not wanting to fail Klein, Wright went over and kicked the squire aside, sending him flying towards the crowd of knights.

"Cometh, I failed you sire." The squire muttered, his eyes threatening to give out.

"But your health bar is…oh yeah." The knight regained his previous stature, "Don't worry lad, we, the Knights of Honorable Affairs will avenge you!" Then he looked right at him. "Smith master! What is the meaning of your treachery?"

"I'm protecting him for a…indefinite time," Wright said, keeping their plans a secret.

The knight chuckled. "You, protect him!" He pointed at Klein, "Hah! And you call yourself a bounty hunter."

"More or less."

"Aye, I simply laugh at the irony of the situation, for you appear oblivious for the price on his head," the leader grinned.

"So? I mean, as long as he pays…"

"5 million golden coins back? I think not!" The leader unsheathed his sword. "Sadly, it's only if he be brought back alive. Fortunately for us, though, Miss Guivineire had the generosity to equip us with teleportation magic!" He revealed from his inventory an ordinary knife glowing with blue runes. "One slice at the red and he will be at the mercy of the powers-that-be Miss Guivinere!" He tossed the knife over to Wright.

"You should be KILLING him, rather than protecting him from the unstoppable force that be the Knights of Honor…"  
"Okay, cut the accent, or I cut your neck." Wright snapped. His hands began reaching for his weapon slot, not before glaring at Klein. "I'm sure he'll have some explaining to do, but for now, I'm going to have to smack your assess back to Dungeons and Dragons." Wright paused. "Because he's my customer. Or you could say, he's my Klie-nt?" an awkward silence filled the air, as the knights begin to sigh at the terrible pun.

"Sir? Should we just put him out of his misery?" Asked one of the soldiers.

"Aye, sir bottomstarch. Best to pun-nish those who cannot wordplay." As requested, the soldier called 'bottomstarch' pulled out a two-handed axe embroiled with diamonds.

"Well?" Wright asked, "c'mon then, sour ass!"

"For the Noble Knights!" He yelled, as he made a beeline for Wright, just as his fingers brushed Kaleidoscope's icon.

The poor soldier didn't even have time to react, as a 5 ½ foot long mega sword severed his head off. The Knights of Noble Affairs stood back, stunned.

"Holy Grail!" One of them screamed. "It's a big one!"

"Calm down, I've seen bigger sword," one of them snickered.

 _Oh it's much more than that._ Wright thought.

The sword was a bit longer than a broad-sword, but it was much wider than one. Slightly wider than Wright's body, it could also double as a shield. It also had a bit of a triangle-tip, something Wright wondered was way too similar to Gut's Dragonslayer. It was mainly made out of cold Helheim-steel. Mainly, because the sword also had other metal's mixed into it, all covered by a draugr-oil finish (those useful dead guys). Along the black sword's edges were runes; emitting a faint blue under the Alfheim sun. Similar runes could be seen on the sword's hilt, if you could see past the gauze that wrapped around it. Besides that, the sword was only unique for its Kaleidoscope of metals and its size. Really, the only thing holding it together was three massive bolts at the end. This made it extremely heavy to carry, but also extremely deadly when swung. As one player learned…

"You fiend!" yelled one of the soldiers, as he charged at Wright. In defense, blocked the player's sword, the blade making a resounding ding! Against Kaleidoscope.

"Hey!" Wright yelled as he used the blunt side of Kaleidoscope to shove the person into a meaty overhead slash.

It didn't stop there though. The knights began to flank him from all sides, which made things simple.

Swing. The first row of knights advanced. They tried to parry his sword, but it had too much momentum, and just crashed right through it. The group after it tried performing a mage-circle; a row of shield-bearers protecting mages who would rain down heck on the enemy. Wright simply used Kaleidoscope as a pole to vault over the the knights and cut them down to size (get it? He was short? Aw, forget it.)

One by one, each knight tasted the cold edges of Kaleidoscope, until he heard someone scream.

"STOP THIS AT ONCE!" to his surprise, the leader had drawn his sword, and was pointing it aggressively at him.

"Knights! Call of your siege," Then a sly grin formed on his face, "this one is MINE'S!"

Wright shrugged. "Sure" And then Wright charged straight at the leader. As he swung his sword, the leader parried the blade, too much effort, and charged at Wright's now prone body. He swung it down to stop him, forcing the knight to use his sword to block it, almost crushed under the weapon's sheer weight.

"I," he gasped, "Sir Cometh, will not fall," He loosed one hand on his sword, "TODAY!" and gave Wright a direct punch to the gut, sending Wright flying back.

As Cometh was about to follow-up with a counter attack, Wright activated a sword skill, and made a stabbing-motion at Cometh. The force launched Wright forward, knocking the blade out of Cometh's hands. And right through Cometh. At this point, Wright momentum was too much for him to handle that, like a person holding the leash to an estranged dog, Wright launched himself through the barrack of Knights ahead, and only slowed down right in front of an innocent bystander.

"Heh heh," he laughed, nervously. "Oops?" The player just stood there, mouth agape at the massive weapon. Bystanders aside, the remaining Knights were all shocked at how efficiently Wright had destroyed their guild. Terrified, they ran off, screaming less like chivalrous knights of old, and more like the Nerdy 24hr D&Dr's they were. With that comfort, Wright went back to Klein.

"Well you have some explaining to do."

"Wha-me!" Wright's eye ticked, "mind telling me why your ass cost more than some rich boy's car?"

"Really? You want to know? You weren't that interested before…"

"Before I looked at this knife better?" Klein took another look at the blue knife in Wright's hand. On the handle was a tall feminine-looking figure, holding a mighty battle axe above her head. "This is the mark of Guivinere. The Game Master Guivinere. Cometh wasn't joking around." He looked at the blue knife in his hand, shaking with raw teleportation power. "What did you do to tick her off?"

"Well, it's a long story?"

"Longer than my sword?' Wright asked, immediately regretting the decision. "Not in that way."

Klein seemed oblivious to his comment and tooka d0eep breath. "It all began yesterday when my friends decided to do this raid for some legendary ghost-sword, which one doesn't matter. Well, my friends thought that we should log of near the mountains, so we each found out own spots to log off at. I was going to log off at a nearby town, inside this bar, but then I saw this pretty little lady…" Klein smiled with ecstasy from ear to ear

 _Oh god,_ Wright thought in horror, _this man's a leaky faucet. At least, I hope he's man, not some gross 6-year old._

"And she was all alone," Klein said, "So I came over and asked her if she wanted to hang out. She rejected, and I got desperate, then drunk," Wright stares at him, doubtful, "Apperantly, when I came to, I discovered I had seriously pissed her off. That's when I found out she was a GM, since she had this super-rare weapon pointed at me, and the whole 'Miss Guinevere' name became familiar. Fortunately, GM's aren't allowed to abuse their powers against others anymore." Wright shivered at the thought, remembering the ALO crisis several months ago-the insane GM who experimented on 300 helpless SAO survivors, and how shell-shocked he had been. That incident had hit way too close to home. "And I managed to escape, in good part to my trusty samurai skills and agility."  
"You just threw mugs at her, didn't you?" Klein's embarrassed face was the answer he needed. "Well, serves you right for turning of parent controls."  
"Hey! I'm not going to pass up free alcohol for some mind-clarity. Besides, it wasn't obvious that she was a GM!"

"It should've been!" Wright screamed, "It literally says it right next to their name tag" Klein's embarrassed face just made Wright even more frustrated. "You turned off name tags, didn't you?"

"Well, I would like to blame it against stoned Klein!" Klein argued, "But we're off topic now! Basically, I ran away, got this bounty on my head, and now I have to make it to Legrue in one-hour and a half, so that I'm not late to that raid!" Wright looks at Klein, confused.

"How are your friends going to protect you from a horde of bounty hunters?" At that, Klein looked smug.

"Oh you'll see." Wright, once again, questioned this man's sanity.

"And I'm guessing you don't want to capture because then Guinevere will torture you?" Klein looked shock at that observation.

"I...didn't think about that."

"It's kind of obvious, with the teleportation knives and everything." Wright showed Klein's bounty from his HUD, and there it was. Under the picture of a drunk Klein, a 5 million coin reward, and the words WANTED ALIVE written, and underlined, several times in thick red marker. Or was that blood?

"My nose is not that big" Klein muttered.

"This isn't! This… Ah forget it!" Wright looked into his inventory, and found several hook used to saddle horses. He equipped it around his neck and waist, and tried fitting Kaleidoscopes into it. With some minor adjustment, the sword now hung at his back like a metal backpack. A metal back pack with a handle towering over Wright's head, but it worked. He should've really done this sooner. "Let's just get you to the mountains."  
"Wait, you aren't going to turn me in? 5 million coins?"

Wright took a good hard look at him. "Buddy, with a bounty like that, all types of fighters are after you" he gave a sly smile "protecting you is a perfect way to get into a good fight! Plus, excitement! No way am I passing up an opportunity like this!" Wright summoned his wings, before realizing they don't fit around his back. He un-equipped Kaleidoscope, and summoned them again. "Ready to fly?"

"he he…well, there's this whole 'flying curse' thing…" With a groan, Wright retracted his wings.

"Then we're running, I guess" Vivaciousness pouring through him, Wright began to run off toward the distant, imposing mountains with high spirits.

Klein looked exasperated. "Wait…run? Hey! WAITFORMEYOU'RESUPPOSEDTOPROTECTME!" He screamed, as he chases after his fellow bodyguard.

* * *

Nearby, several hooded figures lurked in the darkness.

"He has a bodyguard now," One of the figures muttered.

"It's your fault!"

"No, it's your!"

"Shut up!" The leader, a red-headed female, commanded. "It's all your faults! You had a chance to trap him! You put a curse on him for goodness sake! Why didn't you grab him!"

"Cometh's men had cornered him," The figured complained, "I considered it rude to interrupt him"  
"Rude! We're the Titans Hands! That's the whole POINT!" the leader pulled out a dagger. "and you better believe we are going to be hella rude to them on their way to the mountain!"

"Politely?" Rosalia made a motion of chocking him, before she reluctantly slumped down.

It had been a grueling time for her, since SAO fell down. After a year of prison, thanks to Kirito, in SAO, Rosalia was glad when she was finally able to disconnect.

Back into another prison. Sort of. Word of criminal guild members spread like wildfire over the internet, sprouting fears of former members refusing to give up the dream they had lived in the game.

As such, being one of the top members of Titans Hands didn't help. She was questioned, tried, but they could only accuse her off harming minors. They (fortunately) couldn't pit any murders against her. Therefore, after spending 6 months in jail, she was let off the hook, back into a world where she struggled to reconnect with her parents, a job, and any relatives she may or may not have killed by accident.

The rest, as they say, is pretty much history.

Too bad her old allies couldn't aid her-after the incident that landed them in jail, they had lost all faith in her. Now she was stuck with these idiotic mobile-gamers who couldn't tell a goblin from their own sword. But it was something she could use in her sweet vengeance upon Kirito. And she would do it through Klein, Miss Guinevere, and a whole lot of torture.

"All right," Rosalia was now feeling optimistic-a secret smile forming on her puffy lips. "On the count of three, we're all getting up, and following those two"

"Got it"

"One…Two"

"Three" Whispered a voice behind them. In a furious blur of red-and-black, the whole guild found their avatars dead on the spot.

And a confident figure standing over their corpses.


	2. Chapter 2: Through Thick and Thick

It was times like this that Wright could fully grasp the sheer effort that went into this game. From the way Alfheim's setting sun made the trees cast long shadows over them. The cool breeze that almost tickled your face as it blew past you. And the subtle details that existed; making you forget it was all simply binary code in a man's elaborate version of the Hunger Games. From the scuttling of ants, to the gentle drops of rain that ever-so carefully perched on the tips of leaves. Or the way the willow trees seemed to obscure your vision. Or the sting of mosquitos. Or the stickiness, poo-like qualities of mud. Or the terrifying details of the creatures that can rise out of said mud.

All those theories on Kayaba being a sadist, to Wright, were undoubtedly true. Because no sane man would spend even a fraction of their time making sure someone can feel mud in all the places they should and shouldn't be in.

Wright and Klein were wandering through 'Mudraker's Swamp.' It was a several-damn-kilometers wide, and almost entirely filled with brown quicksand. The thick forest tree's provided a canopy that let little to no light in, creating a place where only darkness existed, besides the occasional cries of some bog monster.

It had been an hour since they had left the small coal town behind, and they were still some ways away from their destination. Sad to say, a red fairy incapable of flight is arguably more open to attack than a person campaigning to become the president of the United States. So several monsters and potions later, Wright thought that the swamp would be the quickest and safest route to the mountains. In reality, it was far from being the highway Wright had imagined. And he might have to make a brain check on the swamp being _safe._

"ewewewew" Wright muttered, holding out Kaleidoscope, as a massive coach roach scurried along the end of it. The little bastard seemed to buzz with delight at Wright's torment. Unable to take it anymore, Wright used Kaleidoscope to fling the little rascal so far that you could've seen its remains on the sky block.

"Don't you think that was unnecessary?" Klein asked

"Well, I'd like to ask you the same question." Wright stared at him. "You nearly wasted all your mana on burning a leech."

"C'mon, that was a completely different situation! Besides, the thing SUCKED so much that…"

"Not the time," Wright groaned. Tired of walking, he checked Klein's health bar for any status affects. Sadly, the clipped wing icon still remained. "Is that curse off of you yet?" Wright asked.

"Uh, no" He replied "It still has another good hour to go. You sure we shouldn't just, you know, try to get rid of it?"

"Nope. That requires either some expert mage magic, or a healer, and I'm not either of those."

"Oh, too bad." Klein looked down into the mud. Suddenly, his head shot up. "Wait! I have this friend called Asuna! She's a healer, maybe she can fix this?" The name triggered a memory in Wright's head. _Oh yeah, Asuna,_ he thought, _the leader of the Blood Oath Guild._

"Asuna? As in the berserker-healer?"

"Yes."

"She used to be in SAO too, right?"

"Yeah. Those skills sure come in handy. Like now! She could cure me of this curse! Just have to check her loca.." Klein had opened his menu to his FRIENDS list, only to discover that Asuna was inside the mountain they were heading to. "Oh crap, crap, crap."

"What?" Wright asked, his voice full of concern.

"I forgot the check the time! If Asuna is already there," Wright looked at the clock on Klein's menu. 12:00 PM. To any non-player, playing at a time like this seemed absurd. Yet, since SAO proved that full-dive technology can replace sleep (explaining why any SAO survivors didn't suffer insomnia), your dreams could be replaced with that of SAO, figuratively. For anyone concerned with the idea that the brain 'needed to shut down' clearly didn't know the brain was more active during the sleeping hours, rather than when you were awake. Granted, you couldn't completely _negate_ sleep, but you could take a reasonable chunk out of it (score one for sleepless game nerds). That's why it's great that ALO's time wasn't the same as the real world, yet probably bad for anyone who wants to wake up fully refreshed in the morning.  
"So what?"

"That means the raid is about to start! Asuna is always early by, like, 30 minutes."

"Yeash, talk about being the early bird."

"She was a general for 2 years, okay?" Klein looked nervous. Like, fidgeting with his fingers nervously. "Still. If Asuna has already logged in, we only have say, half an hour before everyone else comes and…"

"Really? They won't wait for you?" Wright snorted. "Are you sure those guys are your friends?"

"It's not them waiting for me that's so terrifying," Klein took a deep breathe, "It's the embarrassment that once again, I need Kirito's help in something." Suddenly, the questionable look on Wright's face was now full of curiosity.

"Wait. Kirito? The Black Swordsman? That ALO player with insane stats?" Klein let out a sly grin.

"Yup, that guy! The one that ended SAO, and saved ALO from a power-hungry GM." Suddenly, Wright had his arms around Klein and was shaking him like a ragdoll.

"You're kidding me, right. If you're friends with legends like Kirito, Asuna, and who the heck else, then why HAVEN'T YOU CALLED THEM FOR HELP!" Wright's voice echoed throughout the swamp.

"Yeah, Um…Would you believe me if I said I didn't have a good signal!"

"Ugh! You know what? Fine!" Wright found a dry spot of land and plopped himself on it. "I'm not moving until you tell me everything!"

Klein stared at Wright, thinking this was a joke. He shook his head and began to walk away from him. He got several feet away, before he suddenly stopped, and began to walk back to Wright.

"Fine then. I won't move either," he said in a quiet voice before he sat back-to-back next to Wright-his determination just as strong.

"Uh, yeah. That's what I wanted," Wright glanced at Klein. "What did I want again?"

"You wanted me to tell you why I didn't call my friends for help?" Klein began, "I thought you would've figured it out, what with all your talking."

"You mean all those comments about how useless…Oh shoot," Wright rested his head into his hands. "Dude that was a joke."

"Really? Was it? I mean, you're right. I'm pretty much dead weight for guys like Kirito. I keep swooning over girls, becoming a liability to my team. Heck, I can't even keep a decent track record in my job." That made Wright do a double take-this guy was a grown man.

"But for Kirito? It's like he always knows what to do. He knew Kayaba's identity. He fought monsters without a thought of his own safety. Even when he was out of SAO, the dude was still a saint. Don't get me wrong-I don't hate the guy. But it's just, people like that make you feel like dirt. And when you're surrounded by even MORE people like that, people like Asuna, you only feel…worse." At this, Wright took a good hard look at the ground.

"I can relate," He said. Klein nodded solemnly.

"It sucks, right? When everybody seems better than you." Klein opened the menu in front of him. "Just once, I thought I could prove that I didn't need help-that I could be the independent adult I'm supposed to be." Klein was about to continue, until he suddenly felt Wright's forged-worked hands on his face. There was a resounding CRACK as Wright slapped him. "HEY!"

Suddenly, Klein was looking at Wright face-to-face. "Shut the heck up, Klein. I went down that path, and it is filled with spikes. Nobody's perfect, and I'm sure as heck that Kirito isn't a nobody! Sure, he fought The Gleam Eyes, ended SAO, saved some random girl…"

"Wait, are you a stalker, or?" Klein began.

"But there's a lot of things the guy doesn't have. He isn't a master samurai, he's never had a 5 million-coin bounty on him, nor is he a…working man? Like, considering the guy's magnificence, I'm thinking he's 75."

"You idiot. He's 16" Klein argued, but he could already see a sly grin come to his face.

"And, most importantly, he's never had a 5 million-coin bounty on him while doing a raid." Wright began to take Kaleidoscope off his back. "Only you will."

The smile from Klein suddenly faded. "But we only have 25 minutes left before the raid starts."

"Plenty of time if you're flying," Wright began to activate his wings-a colorful blend of translucent orange and red on dragonfly wings. In retrospect, the whole wings resembled that of fire. After numerous hours of using them, he knew the design by heart.

"C'mon," Wright nudged his head towards his back. Klein laughed at him before his expression turned sober.

"Wait, seriously?"

"Yeah. Quickest way through this forsaken swamp."

"Yeah, I'll think I'll pass." Wright gave the guy a good hard look.

"Look here, mister 'oh, I'm so imperfect,' you want to be independent? Start now." With reluctant steps, Klein began to gracefully wrap his arms around Wright.

"Klein, you're squeezing the breakfast out of my stomach."

"Sorry. For a guy your size, you have a big chest," Klein took a second to adjust his sweaty hands around Wright in the non-gay way possible. "Okay, just go SLOW!" Wright had already taken off. Like a mortar shot, Wright blasted out of the swamp's thick canopy and began to breathe in the fresh air of freedom. Oh, and Klein's screaming.  
"YOUBETTERNOTDROPMEDUDE!" he screamed, his voice barely audible over the wind and the laugh that hollered out of Wright's throat. Because this was the best part of ALO-the _flying._ The feeling of rising above everything like a cloud. The way the wind whipped through your face like it naturally would. The fact that the whole world around them was completely fake, yet so real and alive, pulled at Wright's visceral feelings of freedom. Of flying (related to his namesake), of soaring high above the clouds with no limits. The whole experience was just, blissful.

They flew for a solid 5 minutes before Klein's numb hands began shaking Wright's, snapping him out of a 'flight daze'

"Hey, buddy, I hope you haven't fallen asleep yet,"

"Wha-no, I'm awake."

"Good, because I don't really want to alarm you, but some Salamanders just showed up."

"Salamanders?" Wright looked behind him, only to see a small unit of what looked like red knights flying in a V formation. At the head of the formation was…

General Eugene.

"Aw Schist," Wright fidgeted with his massive sword-akin to the way a distressed politician treats their stress ball. "We've gotta pick up the pace."

"Calm down," Klein chided, "They just showed up. If we don't do anything that'll alert them, everything will be PERFECTLY fine."

"Why are you talking like that?"

"Oh, I don't know," Klein said in a low voice, "Maybe it's because of all the F*** PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN F*** TRYING TO F*** S*** MY F**** PANTS FOR THE PAST 2 HOURS!"

"Wow." Now, more than ever was Wright grateful for parental controls. Wright took another look at the pack behind them "Well, from the looks of it, I don't think they're getting any closer."

"Really? I thought they had scouts and everything."

"Yeah. Weird." soon, blissful silence ensued. "Yeah, maybe they really are just peaceful. Just out for a daily flight or something." As if on cue, a deep growling sound rumbled throughout the sky. Klein was the first to see it.

"Or maybe they're taking the time to summon a Hydra," he said, his voice making it seem very possible that he had pissed himself. To which, fortunately, Wright could say was false.

Large and lumbering, a red-headed (ha) dragon was fast approaching. As it got closer, Wright saw that the beast actually had 3 heads; each with eyes as gold as the sun. It had two massive translucent wings- 4 if you count the smaller ones, mimicking that of a natural player's wings. To add on, the dragon was covered in red-scales that covered its belly, yet it also had a unique armor-plating for its back. In addition to heavy armor, the creature had a spiked club at the end of its tail.

Overall, it looked like a cross between an armadillo, an actual Hydra, and an Ankylosaur. Wright didn't know if he should be terrified that the beast was a fusion of some of the most heavily armored creatures that have ever lived, or that it resembled an armadillo.

Yeash he needed to get his priorities straight.

"Hang on!" he yelled, as he began a steep nose-dive towards the ground. Which, conveniently enough, was still Mudraker's Swamp. (Good thing they hadn't tried to walk through it). His plan was to lose the beast in it, and if that didn't work, there was plan B.

At the last second, Wright pulled out of his dive, and into a horde of trees. _Frick me,_ He thought, as he swung himself to the side-gentle enough so that Klein would not lose his grip on Wright. Too gentle though. Wright felt Kaleidoscope briefly dig into the tree. And so this pattern continued, as Wright left tree after tree with scars, followed by the shadow of what Wright hoped were trees or players, and NOT a blood-thirsty Hydra. Soon though, this shadow disappeared. At first, Wright breathed a sigh of relief-the Hydra had lost them before he remembered three things he had learned from his experience on wild monsters.

They tended to be stupid.

They tended to be determined, and often good, at hunting their prey.

They were really, REALLY stupid.

With a resounding CRASH behind them, the hideous beast tore down the row of trees behind them that continued to, unfortunately, follow them. As the carnage continued, Wright couldn't tell which was louder: the sound of the Hydra tearing through the thick swamp trees with its own claws and strength, or the screaming of two very terrified faeries.

It was really up to debate.

Soon, the Hydra was within range. Eager to strike, one of the creature's head lunged at Wright's feet. He kicked it away, but not before the force launched him out of the swamp…

And into a wide-open clearing. Along with it, the sweet reality of gravity, as the Hydra's 'push' caused the duo to crash-land onto the ground. In a rumble of dust and grass, the two fell apart on the ground-both heaving.

"OHMYGODTHAT'STERRIFYING!" Wright panted.

"Save your breath," Klein stood up-brushing the dust off his body. "The Hydra's not dead yet."

"Yeah," Wright began to pick up his sword. Fortunately, it had landed next to him. "Where is it, anyway? And, where are we?"

Honestly, the location made no sense; just a wide-open space with nothing but grass dotting the land. No visible landmarks. Really, the only two things within sight were the forest, and the,

Entrance

To

The mountains. They had made it! In the distance, on the opposite side of the swamp, there lay a tiny cave in what was otherwise a gob-smackingly large mountain. If given time, they could really accomplish their once far-fetched goal.

Though time wasn't really on their side today.

With a shriek of anger, death, and everything awful, the Hydra finally burst out of the thick swamps, and into the clearing. Standing on all fours, it gave a yell of victory at the sight of its prey.

"Here we go!" Wright yelled, as the creature bounded towards them; like an overexcited bulldog. That changed quickly, however, as the center head was suddenly yanked back by some invisible force, flipping the creature onto its back. Now it resembled an overexcited bulldog on a leash, with a faint reddish smoke aura around its neck. The sight of the beast began to turn gears in his head.

When you were a blacksmith, and your deal was in magic items, you studied mage magic. Out of the very-few requests Wright ever got for his store, most of them consisted of items that could prevent against a lightning-attack, or make you invulnerable to fire, or, oddly enough, protect you from a swarm of killer bees with Rick Astley faces.

In short, they were items specifically meant to counter-act mage spells. Right now, the Hydra was reminding him of one specific order he had received. What was the order? A bug spray for the killer Rick Bees that, as Wright later learned, were being controlled by the buyer's friend. The spell he had used was exactly the same as the one he was now witnessing.

"Klein! I recognize this spell!" Wright's voice became delirious with excitement.

"Then tell already!"

"It's a Bloodhound spell!" he explained, "It's when a powerful mage summons a wild beast of their choosing to hunt down someone. Problem is, the beast can't go far from the spell-caster."

"Mana can be used to increase the radius of the 'leash,' but mana is already used to summon and control the beast. Eventually, the mana-output becomes too great, and the beast usually is set free to kill its spell-caster." Wright examined the Hydra squirming on the ground-thrashing against its ethereal chains. "I think the Salamanders are combining their mage's mana to greatly increase the bloodhound spell. And with the distance, size, and wildness of their beast, they're pretty much guzzling through mana."

Wright smiled at Klein. "You thinking what I'm thinking?" for the first time since meeting him, Wright could agree with the naughty look. Wright fished through his inventory until he found the item he was looking for. Equipping it, he tossed it at Klein. "If the bond doesn't break by the time we reach the Salamanders, spray this on the Hydra." Klein raised an eyebrow.

"I get what you're doing, but, bug spray?" Klein held the bronze canister curiously.

"Oh just do as I say" Wright muttered. With a low GIDDYUP! Klein leapt onto Wright's back, and they darted right toward the squirming Hydra. "Come get us you glorified winged turtle!" Wright yelled at it. Before you know it, they had an angry Hydra chasing them into the sky.

* * *

General Eugene was excited, no, _ecstatic._ After 10 minutes of flying, the Hydra had finally stopped moving. Granted, if the mages could control it enough to kill just the Falsaris and not the bounty. Speaking about mages…

"How's the spell going?" Eugene asked the mage next to him, his face beaded in sweat. Not that you could under all the armor he was wearing, which was exactly the whole point of it- to hide their mages.

"100% control over the beast, sir!" he replied proudly. "The beast still has their scent, and is using maximum mana output in order to chase them! Hail to the Salamander mages!"

"Heck to that, brother!" One of the other mages-female, yelled this time. "And they're really on the run! I can almost feel the _wildness_ inside it!"

"Yeah! It's moving at top speed, towards us?" the whole group stayed silent.

"Why would it be doing that?" asked one of them.

"Is tired?"

"Finished?"

"Maybe our targets are flying in our direction?" One of the mages suggested, before falling into a fit of laughter.

"Yeah right!"

"As if they'd be stupid enough to do that!"

"Idiots!"

"Just shut up and stay focused!" yelled Eugene, ticked off at his unit's childish behavior, though he should've seen it coming. Mages could be pure pains in the butt; bragging about their DPS when their health was lower than that of any other class. So sometimes, they just needed to be taught their place.

"Sir?" Like right now.  
"Soldier. If you do not shut your mouth, I will gladly replace it with your ass!"  
"But, the enemy is _RIGHT THERE!"_ Eugene turned in the soldier's direction, only to see two figures darting towards them _._ One was significantly larger than the other. And louder. As they came closer, it appeared one of the figures was actually two- a Salamander piggy-back riding on that Falsaris they had spotted. The other figure, was their Hydra.

"SPRAY IT KLEIN!" the orange fairy yelled, "LEROOYYYYYYYYYY!" The duo cut through the unit like a bullet, spraying a mysterious mist into the air. It brought the squad into a coughing fit. In contrast, the Hydra just drove right through them like a bowling ball. Eugene was barely able to avoid its spikes.

"Waris! Layle! Get a grip!" He yelled

"Yes sir!" Waris replied, before his face changed from tight concentration, to plain horror. "The sp-pell's broken!"

Suddenly, a humongous figure floated behind Waris, it's 3 heads in a thin smile; as if it were happy to confirm this fact. Then, with one snap of it's mighty jaws, the creature ate Waris.

Whole. _Well F*ck,_ Eugene thought.

* * *

"Suck on that Salamnders!" Klein yelled, as their way into the mountain came ever closer into view.

"You, do know you're a salamander too, right?" Wright joked, he too happy at their feat. As they landed near the tunnel entrance, the duo felt giddy.

"Yeah. Hey! I just remembered, we have some empty spots for the raid, so you can join us!"

Suddenly, all the excitement rushed out of him. Wright turned looked at Klein, shocked. "I mean, if you want to. You kind of saved my ass and everything, so it's the least I can do." Wright was silent. "You, okay?"

 _Yeah, better than okay_ Wright thought, but he couldn't make the words come to reality. He was just, shocked. It had been so long since he had hung out with someone. His charisma at school hadn't exactly earned him any friends, and he didn't live with any family. He had gotten so used to the isolation, he had thought that such a thing was only for kids; better known as a 'play over.'

So, the feeling he felt now was, overjoyed? Relieved? Stressed?

"Let me think about it," he finally said. Just as he was about to enter the cave though, a familiar voice called out to him.

"FALSARIS! KLEIN!" Eugene yelled, his voice full of anger. And, curiously, eagerness. "You better get out here, or I'll make sure she regrets it!" wait, she?

Surprised, they both tentatively crept out of the cave. In front of them was Eugene, looking no-worse for wear, and unless you could earn scars from looking like a Jack Black, neither was his face. He appeared alone, except for one figure. Held up by the collar, a pink-haired girl was struggling in Eugene's grasp. Wright could tell she was a blacksmith, with the way her gloves were covered in soot, and the hammer at her belt. Other than that, he had no idea who this person was.

Klein, on the other hand, must have. "Elisabeth!" he yelled.

Eugene let loose a hearty laugh. "Ah good, you guys have deep bonds. It'll make this whole ordeal so much easier." In his other hand, Eugene revealed a long blood-red sword. "Now, let's talk _business."_


	3. Chapter 3: Salamander Vs Falsaris

**Author Note: Chapter 1 of "The New Kli-ent has been updated to sound less like trash. If you read it before it was updated, then I advise you to read it again. It's not like any massive changes were made, just less grammar mistakes, better descriptions, and less awkward phrases.**

 **Other than that, enjoy.**

* * *

"Why should we care?" Eugene seemed taken back by the question.

"Excuse me?"

"I said," Wright repeated, "Why should we care, you idiot? This isn't IRL or SAO. This is a game. Why should we care if you kill, Elisabeth, was it? I mean, she'll be fine 5 minutes later, right?" Of course it was true. It was just a game. It didn't matter if you died or not, right?

Right? If so, why did he feel so worried? His hands were literally shaking in his pockets, as if any decision they made from here on out was crucial. Klein seemed to be thinking this too; his hands were tightly gripping the hilt of his sword lest Eugene see how furiously they were shaking.

"I get it. You're probably wondering 'what if this is a trick?' Trying to call my bluff. Well, I have proof!" With his free hand, he fished through his pockets and pulled out two objects. One was a teleportation knife, its blade emitting a blue particle effect, and bronze orb with a red dot on it's face. "You see, the knives Miss Guinevere provided for us still need a destination. You may not know this, they're still in the beta phase, but the knives are each tied to an Orb of Location. It just so happens Miss Guinevere was kind enough to provide the Salamander army with _both_."

"Because you were the strongest of the bounty hunters," Wright interrupted. "Really, I think she must've been tempted to give you magical flying asses. Oh wait! You already have them!" Eugene's smile turned sour, and the sword inched ever-so-close to Elisabeth's throat.

"I should be the one making jokes here-The ghost unit only found Elisabeth's location because Kirito was so kind to tell direct us to a person who might know where to find Klein. We needed him because of 'Salamander duty.' Really, I thought someone who was so powerful would keep more in touch with their friends." Klein stared at the ground, the guilt written on his face. Already, Wright hated this guy.

"You know what? Forget it. You're just stalling for you army. The longer we talk to you, the faster your friends deal with that Hydra." Wright began walking into the cave. "C'mon Klein."

"Wright," Klein whispered, "I…can't." Then, with a voice of steel, he shouted, "Because I'm a Samurai! Protecting ladies is part of my Bushido code!"

"I thought that was chivalry" Eugene commented, a huge grin appeared on his face

"Well, whatever it! It's part of MY code, and I will not falter fro it!" Klein unsheathed his longsword; a stainless-steel blade that seemed to cut right through the very air. "Fight me coward!"

"Alright." Eugene shrugged. He dropped Elisabeth, and she tumbled towards the ground. It was only now that Wright noticed that there was a red-gag around her mouth. Ignoring all sense of self-perseveration, Klein leapt out of the cave to untie it. He soon wished he hadn't.

"OHMYGODI'VEBEENMUTEDFOROVERHALFANHOURKLEINTHISISALLYOURFAULTAND…"

"Hey! I'm saving your butt right now!" Klein argued.

"SAVINGMYBUTT! YOUCOULDN'TEVENSAVEYOUROWNF***BANKACCOUNT!" To Wright, it was amazing someone previously at gun-point could have so much to say. "LET ME AT HIM! I'LL ELISABETH-GUARANTEE MY MACE WILL BE UP HIS ASS!"

"I can see why they gagged her," Eugene said, his face never losing that cheeky grin.

"We can talk later," Klein told Elisabeth, "right now, I have to fight the second-best player in all of ALO."

"Alright man," There was no mistaking it now-something was up with Eugene. He looked too, happy. "Ready when you are."

"For honor!" Klein yelled. Without any proper stance or order, Klein rushed towards Eugene. As he charged towards Eugene, his arms open on the battlefield-his fists closed. Through his fingers, Wright noticed a red-colored object. Before Wright could warn Klein, Eugene threw the item at Klein. It was a ball that fit in the palm of his hands; covered in red leather hastily stitched together. He threw it at Klein, and in an instant, he was covered in a thick-gluey substance.

"ITOLDYOUKLEINYOUWEREATOTALPUSSY!" screamed Elisabeth, still squirming in her bonds like a worm.

"Hey!" Klein complained, "This is NOT fighting with honor! Let me out!"

"Oh I'll let you out, after I fight _him_." Eugene pointed his sword at Wright.

"Excuse me?" Everyone said in unison, even Elisabeth.

"That's right _Falsaris,_ I want to fight you. I've rarely seen your kind around, much less one capable of taking on Sir Cometh and his army! I want to see what you're made of."

"Wow." Wright heart was beating in his chest. Not from fear, but anticipation. Adrenaline coursed through his veins. His mind began to forget the scenery around him. Likewise, some, savage urge overcame him. He recognized the urge. The urge to fight. "And if I win," He asked, horrified by his own excitement at the thought, "I get Klein?"

"And Elisabeth. Free of charge," This was met by more furious screaming from Elisabeth.

"Really? You're passing up a 5 million gold bounty for a fight?" Klein asked, mouth agape.

"Of course! He's a Falsaris fairy! I barely see any around anymore, with the whole massacre and everything. Ymir did a pretty good job of covering up the whole fiasco," Eugene sighed. " Oh, the tragedy. What happened back then was horrible," He unsheathed his demonic sword, Gram. "I hope you don't fall like they did." To Klein's confusion, as Wright readied his own weapon, Wright nodded.

For a few, fleeting moments, everything was quiet. Wright had Kaleidoscope out. Along the blade, sea-colored runes began to emit a ice-like mist colder than Helheim. Likewise, Eugene had Gram out. If you stood close enough to the blade's edges, you could hear the faint sound of a demon screaming for blood. Almost pouting at the standstill.

The grassland was quiet, the breeze brought to a halt, until Wright let out a terrifying battle cry.

"BRING IT ON!" He swung sword 360 degrees at Eugene. He ducked underneath the massive blade, and prepared to stab. Seeing this, Wright strafed to the right, and swung his sword at an exposed Eugene. He ducked the initial attack, but couldn't resist being knocked aside by the blunt of the blade.

Adjusting his feet, Eugene managed to land upright. Just in time to see Wright charge-his sword out like a lance, and glowing a light blue. A sword skill, or was it?. Eugene managed to block the blow, but was still knocked back several feet. (or meters?) Much to his interest, there was now tiny pieces of snow on Gram's edges.

"Good one," he grunted, before Wright followed-up the attack with an overhead strike. Eugene flew to the side, avoiding the attack, and made a jousting-motion at Wright's head.

Despite Kaleidoscope's considerable weight and size, Wright swung it quite fast. In a confusing move, Wright brought the weapon up to block Eugene's attack. As expected, the sword went through the sword, and supposedly impaled Wright's head.

Supposedly.

Wright had ducked the phantom blade, and grabbed the sword by the side. He pulled it, and caused Eugene to head-butt his sword. He did this several times before knocking Eugene back with the blunt-side Kaleidoscope. The blow sent him staggering, and Wright added to the blow with a swing of his sword. Eugene managed to parry the sword, but only by using two hands.

"That's the spirit!" he yelled, just as he blocked another one of Wright's attack.

Wright didn't respond; all his thoughts focused on attack. He knew Eugene's sword had the ability to pass through any parry or block. If he let himself become distracted and gave Eugene the opportunity to strike, he would plow through Wright's defenses. He had to stay on the offensive. Wright used his sword to launch himself upwards, and the two began to fight in the air. They became a blur of blue, red and metal, each attack bringing them higher and higher into the air. Higher and higher, until that fatal moment.

Wright was swinging at Eugene who managed strafe besides the massive sword, and slash at Wright's face. The damage it did was small, but it was the end of the beginning. Attack after attack, Eugene began to press Wright into a defensive position. One in which Eugene could blow through with ease. Wright couldn't block with Kaleidoscope, so he had to resort to dodging the attacks.

It only delayed the inevitable. Eugene managed a sword-skill stab that impaled Wright right through the chest. The pain was so intense that Wright his sword. Worse still, they were at the height limit. The sword got itself stuck on the invisible barrier. Now Wright resembled something like a kebab, with the cook smiling from ear-to-ear.

"Game over," he said, confident he had won. As his health bar gradually fell into the red, Wright closed his eyes for the blissful _you're Dead_ icon _._ For his avatar's soul to be nothing but an orange ball of ashes.

But when he opened his eyes, the whole world had changed. He stood on a dirt path; surrounded by a line of oak trees. They were aligned in a way that almost seemed man-made-just close enough to the path to provide decent shade, yet far away enough so that the path wasn't engulfed in darkness the tree's canopy provided. At first, Wright didn't recognize the place, until he heard a familiar pant.

"ohmygodcanwejustbreak?" someone said. The voice had come behind a small hill.

The stranger jogged over the hill, and at last, Wright knew who it was.

It was him. At least, a younger him.

" _C'mon, Wright! We've only ran for 5 kilometers_ " said the person next to him.

" _Easy for you to say!. And stop speaking Japanese!"_ his friend only shrugged.

" _How else are you going to learn?"_

" _I don't know, google translator?"_ At that, they both fell onto the ground laughing.

"But seriously, you need better Japanese," said the friend again-this time in broken English.

"Says the person who can't say Uranus without laughing," Again, they broke into a fit of laughter, rolling around on the ground. They stayed there, awkwardly, looking at the sky above.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" Wright asked his friend.

"Hmm?"

"We should make a promise-like, a blood oath promise."

"Hey, what brought that up?"

"Be serious, Aian. Our group is fighting on the front lines, who, may I remind you, are losing members. Stronger enemies against weaker numbers means imminent death. One of us is going to die."

"For what reason? From a boss-fight, or trying to prevent other from death?" Aian said in his broken English. "Our group would die trying to protect each-other. Either we all die, or none of us do."

"Okay then," Wright sighed, "But just listen to me. If one of use dies on the battlefield, we have to carry their weapon until the end. No exceptions." At that, his friend chuckled.

"Too bad, I've always wanted to try out your spear," grunting, Aian began to stand up. He offered his hand to Wright, "but Snoop's axe is good, too. Or Carlos's sword. Darn it, now you make me want us to die," He grinned. "Now come on. You wanted this." And with an irresistible grin on his face, Wright took Aian's hand, and they began their run again.

Laughing

 _If one of us die, Wright had said._

Filled with anger, rage, and everything furious, Wright opened his eyes again. His health bar was in the red, and he was still pinned against the wall.

 _If I die, Wright had been trying to say._

Wright sucker-punched Eugene in the face. He gasped, stumbling back, just as Wright punched him again. And again. And again. At one point, he even grabbed Eugene's hair and slammed it against his blade. Eugene's head had a red cut through it, but his grip on his sword was like iron.

 _Keep going on without me, Wright had been trying to say_

Eugene was only a hair away from Wright, when an idea came to him. He reached into Eugene's pants, and pulled out his teleportation knife. He stabbed himself with it, and disappeared into a blue aura. Eugene was shocked.

"Where'd you go?" he stammered. _Right behind you_. With a satisfying WHAP, Wright slammed the back of Eugene's skull with his fists. Eugene staggered, but before he could stabilize himself, Wright had already grabbed Eugene's sword. With all his might, he pulled it out of Eugene's grip, and threw it down at the ground below. He wasn't done with him yet. Before Eugene could fly down to his precious, Wright grabbed the back of Eugene's head, and repeatedly slammed it against the sky block. He was currently smashing the second-best ALO player's face against the skybox. But despite the pain it clearly brought to Eugene, the damage wasn't good enough. Pressing Eugene's face still, Wright held out his free-hand, and felt a slight tingle at the tips of his fingers. Eugene managed to turn his head in Wright's grip, and saw it before he did- a cold-steel shard of death coming right at him. Wright was summoning Kaleidoscope like Mjolnir.

 _But only IF_ _I die, Aian had made him realized._

"How?" was all he could manage, before the massive sword of death impaled him straight through the skull. What happened afterwards is best described as bloody, gross, and worthy of making even Kratos vomit. As the life went out of him, Eugene managed a sly smile on his cut face. Wright turned to look in his direction, and saw a massive flock of birds in the distance. Except, there weren't any humanoid birds in ALO, besides _players._ They were all players; curious as to what all the fighting was like, and most likely bounty hunters who recognized the sight of the Salamander's general. He didn't have much time. Just before Wright could make his way down, though, the last of Eugene's health bar disappeared, and he died. That's when Wright remembered a key feature of Eugene's armor.

It could explode.

Both players were suddenly engulfed in a single, fiery explosion that could be seen for miles away.

"I told you, just let me out!" Klein had been stuck in his glue-trap for the entire fight. Sure, he hadn't seen the fight, but he was pretty sure it would've been over by now. He just hoped Wright had won. But he couldn't think about that. Right now, he had to convinced a pissed pink-headed **** to not kick his ass.

"And why would I do that?" She asked playfully. During the fight, she was able to worm her way towards Klein, stand beside the sword that stuck out of Klein's trap, and (much to both of their discomfort) managed cut herself free. That had happened only minutes after Eugene had gone out of sight. She had spent the rest of her time teasing him on his, 'sticky situation.' "You're the reason I was kidnapped! And muted! For 30 freaking minutes! Have _you_ ever been muted for half an hour?"

"Not really," before Klein could elaborate, he saw a player land on the ground next to him. Or rather, behind him. "Hey, Wright is that you?" he heard the figure come closer, followed by, weirdly enough, Elisabeth's suppressed laughter.

"*sigh* I really feel tempted to leave you there," Klein was about to ask why, when he saw Wright's face. Everything besides his health was fine (though dangerously in the _red)_ , but his _hair._ It had blown up into a poufy brown-cloud of hair. Klein broke into a fit of laughter. "Just shut up," he muttered. But he too couldn't resist a smile. "We have to get moving soon-I saw a whole wave of potential bounty hunters coming our way."

"Uh, yeah. I'm not moving anywhere soon."

Wright sighed. "Okay, just stand still," Klein panicked when he saw Wright pull out his sword; the whole thing glowing a light blue. He winced as Wright brought it over his head, and cut at the gluey substance. Around the area he had cut, the glue began to become covered in ice. Klein was nothing if not amazed.

"You have a frost sword?' Klein asked.

"Yeah. Same spell with the armor-the only reason I survived Eugene's final attack," he took a step back from Klein. "Elisabeth, if you would be so kind."

"With pleasure," Only when Elisabeth readied her weapon did Klein realize what she was doing. Before he could protest, she yelled "HOMERUN!" and swung her mace against his bonds. With a satisfying SHATTER, the whole thing fell apart. And, _accidentally,_ Klein had a mace-shaped red imprint on his butt, accompanied by the intense screaming of a man who's pride has been murdered."Oops." Elisabeth said innocently.

"Get up Klein. We have another 10 minutes to get to the mountain city before your…er…time trial runs out!" Wright said.

"Yeah, about that," Klein face sagged, "I kind of told Elisabeth about, everything."

"Wha-why!?"

"She kept torturing me! Promising she'd let me go if I explained everything."

"And oh he did," Elisabeth snickered, "I can't believe you tried flirting on a GM."

"Elisabeth, please don't…"

"Tell anyone? Well, I don't think I can keep that promise…" She began to point at something behind Klein, before an arrow narrowly missed her head. It had come from one, no, numerous objects in the distance. On the ground, they looked like an angry swarm of bird-sized bees, but Wright knew what they were; a massive swarm of bounty hunters all hunting Klein.

"You still sure that your friends can handle something like that?" he whispered to Klein.

"I'll get back to you on that," Klein replied, as he ran into the safety of the cave.

The three began to run away into the darkness of the cave; a horde of faeries following suit. Worse still, they only had 10 minutes left.

This was going to get messy.

* * *

"Are the monsters set?" Rosalia asked her group.

"Yes Rosalia!" they yelled.

"Perfect," Rosalia couldn't help but smile. Thanks to their knowledge of their prey's destination, they were able to fly directly to the mountains faster than any cursed fairy could ever cover on foot. Now they camped within one of 4 tunnels that lead into the city. They had some other members guarding other openings, but they served mainly as scouts; watching for any sign of their prey. Right now, they had a blockade of random stones, along with a chain of cave monsters at their control. They were ready for Klein.

"This plan is perfect," Rosalia muttered to herself, "they have no choice but to run into us-there no way we won't meet them." One of her recruits tapped her on the shoulder. "What?"

"Uh, Rosalia? What if the enemy didn't come from the front, but from the city?" the recruit looked pale at the thought. "What if some info-brokers told everyone Klein's location? Won't they come running right out of there?"

"Then we'll have to move, sadly." Rosalia sighed, "But let's think about that when the time comes. So far, the bridge is clear," She pointed down the long stone pathway behind them. True to her word, it was almost empty of players. Almost…

Running down the path was a fairy. She wore a blue-and-white tight suit that complemented her blue hair. In her right hand, she held a silver rapier. In her left, she held a pathetic-looking tree branch. She was currently stabbing her rapier through the chest of another fairy several times her size. With more speed than Rosalia thought one could muster, she then cut one of her opponent's legs off, and kicked them over the bridge. Before the larger fairy could hit the water, though, a massive shark-like creature leapt out to eat them. Rosalia only knew of one feared player with such skill.

"I think I know who that is," she began, before her eyes widened in fear. "Oh shoot! Everyone move out!" she yelled, but not before an ice spell hit them all. They all began to turn into ice sculptures, their faces literally frozen in fear. Rosalia squeezed her eyes shut-anticipating that fearsome rapier to cut her down. Fortunately, the fairy was lost in her thoughts, and simply ran past her.

Muttering the words _unbelievable, Klein,_ and _jerk._

* * *

Klein, Wright, and Elisabeth ran like their lives depended on it. Because they did. They were inside a large-ish tunnel. Really, it had the classic aesthetics: hanging stalagmites slowly dripping water. On closer inspection, you could see glowing mushrooms that nestled between these stalagmites. It was the type of detail Wright would've been admiring if his thoughts were currently occupied with imminent death.

The whole tunnel was surrounded by the echoes of what presumably was hundreds of players screaming bloody murder. Though Wright couldn't see them, he knew they were behind him, or in front of him, or on top of him? The one main disadvantage of having to run through the tunnels, Wright realized, was that there were so many of them. Due to that, large guilds chasing them had splintered into smaller ones to find them quicker. Those groups met other smaller groups from OTHER guilds with the same objective. These resulted in skirmishes, temporary alliances, and the splitting of groups again. And so the chaotic cycle continued.

Wright and his companions (friends now, he guessed?) were just hoping that no one would realize their true destination. Better yet, that they didn't run into anyone. But guess what? Of course they did!

At a sharp turn to the right, they almost ran head-first into a group of Sylphs. Rather disrespectfully, Elisabeth kicked the leader in the groin and shoved him in the gut. He crashed onto the ground and was soon impaled by Kaleidoscope; now glowing a light blue. The leader gasped before exploding into a million snowflakes that engulfed everyone but his teammates. When the micro-blizzard cleared, all the Sylphs were frozen in ice.

"Klein, if you would" Klein whipped out his blade, and struck a fiery sword-skill blow throughout the guild. The attack unfroze their opponents, but it also left their bodies on fire. Good trade. They continued down their path, leaving the fairies as burning torches.

"How many more turns?" Wright asked Klein. Klein pulled up a map of the area.

"Another right, left, then straight ahead!" He yelled, excitement in his voice, "And we're good on time! 10 minutes left!"

"Is this really important?" Elisabeth asked.

"Trust me, it is," Wright said, his voice a heavy contrast from the resounding WHOOP he heard from Klein.

"We're going to make it!" Klein yelled. Sadly, as any reader knows, boundless optimism is always on the ledge of bottomless despair.

Faster than the eye could track, a dark figure slammed into Klein. Before either of them could react, the figure tossed familiar looking balls at them.

The same one's Eugene used. Elisabeth and Wright both instinctively blocked it with their weapons, but it was pointless. The goo expanded to cover their whole bodies, and they became engulfed in a massive gluey substance. Wright couldn't turn his head, but he could hear Klein taking a SLASH at their attacker. Whoever they were dodged the attack, and with a resounding WHIP, managed to slam Klein's head against the rocks. Before Klein could react, apparently, the sound of chains tying themselves around Klein reached Wright's ears, followed by a heavy HMMPH as the figure began to pick up Klein.

Wright was forced to listen to the sound of Klein screaming "LETMEFREEYOUIDIOT!I'LLTEARYOUAPART," as the figure slowly dragged him away to whatever horrors they had in plan for him.


	4. Chapter 4:Glitched Out

**Author's note: several things to announce:**

 **1) This chapter has now be completed.**

 **2) The misspelling of Lisbeth as Elisabeth Sobeck from Horizon Zero Dawn has been fixed...for this chapter :(**

 **3) "The Mountain City" is actually called Legrue. Will fix when possible.**

 **Other than that, enjoy.**

* * *

Chapter 3: Glitched Out

"Hang on Klein! I'm coming!" Wright yelled, fumbling for the grip of his sword.

"What's the use? We're," Lisbeth eyes lit up, "oh shoot Wright don't! I'm wearing a skirt!" Wright didn't care, as he finally griped the handle of his sword, and began to focus.

Suddenly, Kaleidoscope began to glow a light blue. Frost formed on the gooey substance that surrounded them, until they began to look like a frozen hedgehog. With a yell, Wright RIPPED himself out of the frozen trap, and fell onto the ground, panting. Lisbeth fell down next to him, shivering.

"You okay?"

"No, I'm not okay! Unlike you, I'm not wearing anything meant for winter!" Lisbeth angrily responded.

"Well," Wright quipped, "you're not really wearing anything meant for combat to begin with…" Lisbeth eyes flared up, and she punched Wright in the shoulder.

"Just shut up. We need to find Klein."

"Do you know which way they went?"

"Yeah. There's only one other tunnel behind us, duh," She pointed at the tracks leading into a single tunnel. "She must've been going on the same path we were,"

"I don't think so," Wright wondered why their pursuer would bring Klein to the city. Were they another friend of Klein's in disguise? Just trying to prank him? No, why would Klein be screaming then? He should've properly seen their pursuer, despite their hoodie. So if they hadn't gone through the only tunnel left, then where had they gone?

To the right of the tunnel, there was a small cave. Could they have gone there? Before he knew it, he was walking towards the mouth of the cave.

"Hey where…We need to go that way! The drag-marks from Klein are not going that way, last time I remember!" Lisbeth ran to the side of Wright. He ignored her, and went inside. Nothing about the cave was unique. It was just a small hemisphere with some stalagmites and bugs. He looked around spikes, under some rocks, even picked up a few glowing mushrooms. Nothing. Defeated, Wright sighed, tilting his head towards the roof, as if he were staring at the night sky. That's when he saw it-

A hole on top of the roof. At the end of it, there was a small shaft of light. A possible hidden cavern. Sure, the hole was a whole body-length above him, but a resourceful person could reach it.

"Lisbeth! There's a hole here! The tracks might be a decoy. I think they went this way!" Lisbeth walked over to where he was.

"Where?" In response, Wright pointed up, and Elisabeth had to crane her head all the way up. "Dang. I doubt someone could reach that, much less while carrying an idiot."

"Still more likely than the other option." Lisbeth nodded her head in agreement.

"So, how are we going to get up there? Our wings wouldn't fit in such a narrow opening," Wright couldn't resist a sly grin on his face. He positioned himself underneath the hole and brought the flat side of his sword above his head.

"Really? A Human ladder? It's not going to work, you're too short!"

"C'mon, it's worth a try"

"Look!" to emphasize her point, Lisbeth climbed onto Kaleidoscope, and tried to touch the hole. She could barely touch it. "See? A human ladder won't work!"

"Who said anything about a human ladder?" He remarked. Before Lisbeth could question him, Wright calculated his trajectory, and thrust Kaleidoscope upwards like a launch pad. With an appropriate SCREAM, Elisabeth shot through the hole like a bullet in reverse. _Hopefully,_ Wright thought _she doesn't hit her head on the ceiling._ Much to his delight, heard Elisabeth's rage as she struggled to grasp onto the ledge he had seen, before finally pulling herself over.

"YOUPIECEOF***INEARLYHITMYHEAD"  
"But you didn't!" he called back. Smirking, Wright stuck his sword beneath the whole. "Wait up! I'm coming!" With a great UMPPH, Wright jumped onto the handle of Kaleidoscope and used it to jump up at the hole-managing only barely to grab onto something. With intense effort, he began to climb up the claustrophobic tunnel, muttering how accurately Kayaba had captured the struggle of climbing.

With a heavy breath, Wright finally grabbed onto the final ledge and heaved himself over. Exhausted, he laid flat on the ground, with Aflheim's sun beating down on his face.

 _WTH, the sun?_ Rejuvenated by his curiosity, Wright sat up, and was utterly amazed at what he saw; or the lack of what he saw.

Everywhere he looked there was nothing but rock. It was on the floors, walls, everything except the open ceiling was covered in dark beaten rock. Whatsmore, the…place itself was as wide as a football stadium, with curved walls that all leaned on each other, creating a circular opening as the roof. To Wright, it looked like a cone with the top part cut off. Though he was less concerned about that as he was about the myriad stalactites above them; their bases so thin, they could've fallen at any second.

"We're inside a volcano?"

"Yeah," Lisbeth said behind him, surprising Wright. "At least, it's supposed to be a volcano. By my guess, I think we're in one of those undeveloped areas of the game."

"Yeah, I guess. Weird though-who would want to plunge into the heart of a volcano?"

"Someone with too many fire potions, probably." Lisbeth sighed, "Or a blacksmith. I mean, imagine all the materials that could be gathered here. Obsidian, Malachite, Fucium, or something like that shiny rock in the distance." Suddenly, her eyes widened in alarm. Without warning, she shoved him onto the ground.

"Hey, what are you…" He began, before a ZING sound filled his ears, and an arrow struck itself into the wall behind Wright. "That 'rock' was the tip of an arrow, wasn't it?" Elisabeth nodded, "Then we're in the right place. Yay me." Wright groaned as he stood up. "Let's finish this." He reached out his hands for Kaleidoscope before he began to feel a strain in his fingers like Kaleidoscope was…

Stuck.

"Aw Crab" was all he could say before he heard another arrow. This time, it was aimed at Lisbeth. Out of sheer luck, the arrow was deflected by her mace and barely soared over her head.

"We're out in the open here! Use your sword-thingy!" She yelled.

"I can't! My sword is stuck in the hole!" Wright's face suddenly changed from utter fear to embarrassment. "Oh my gosh, I can't stop making mature jokes today!" Another arrow whistled pass them, glowing a bright red. Like all the other arrows, it found its mark on the wall behind them. Unlike the other arrows, sparks began to fly out of it. Before they could react, the arrow exploded with the force of a c4, knocking Wright and Elisabeth several feet away, and chipping a quarter of their health.

Out of instinct, Wright held out his hand for Kaleidoscope. And, for a fleeting moment, Wright felt the sword come to him before it was stuck again. _Thank goodness for broken game physics!_ He thought.

"Lisbeth! We need to close the distance! Go right, I go left! She can't shoot us both!"

"Good call! But what about your…" moments later, another arrow struck the ground in front of her; spewing a green virulent gas.

"I'll take care of it! MOVE MOVE MOVE!" He yelled, and they both began to run in different directions. While Lisbeth was using her mace to block any attacks, Wright was trying to summon Kaleidoscope. Bit by bit, he could feel the blade crawl through the hole, inching ever closer to its ultimate goal. It wasn't until he was within 50 ft of their sniper did he feel the blade finally be free of the tunnel. Just when the sniper trained their bow on him. From a quick glance, the bow was off Leprechaun make: mechanical, versatile, and good for kebabs (he knew from experience). It would only take a good shot from a good shot to dissolve him into little pixels; an idea Wright was afraid of. In the heat of the moment, instead of letting Kaleidoscope fly into his hands, he lunged to the right, just in front of the sniper, and let go of his hold on Kaleidoscope. Its size and momentum flew the blade over Wright's head, and right at the sniper.

Imperturbable, they simply jumped onto the blade, then leaped off it. Now overhead, Wright saw that she had equipped two miniature scythes. How did he know? They were currently being used to stab at his chest.

Too terrified to even scream, Wright rolled to the side, the scythes digging into the ground where his head had been. He jumped onto his feet, but not before the scythes slashed across his face, drawing blood. _Wha… They were several feet away,_ Wright thought, _how…_ When he regained his footing, he saw that the two scythes were connected to chains wrapped around his enemy's arms.

"Okay," He said, "that is physically impossible, but defiantly badass."

"I know," the bounty hunter whispered, before whipping her weapon a full 360 degrees. This time, though, Wright was better prepared. He back flipped underneath the attack, spotting Elisabeth while doing so. _Oh shoot,_ he thought. With the grace of a true killer, their blood-hooded figure wrapped their Scythes around Lisbeth's mace, and pulled. The force of the pull ripped the mace right out Elisabeth's surprised hands. Too surprised, in fact, to dodge their double gut-punch, elbow thrust, and skull-crushing uppercut they let loose on her. To make matters more impressive, the whole attack was done without any sword skills.

Lisbeth stumbled to the ground, barely on the edge of consciousness, as their pursuer slowly made their advance.

"Nice try. You're almost as tough as I thought," She said as she whipped out her twin scythes, just before a massive piece of metal hit them in the head, sending them flying over Lisbeth, and crashing onto the ground.

"HAHA!" Wright pumped his fist into the air. "Taste Draugr Finish, you son of a mother!"  
"Really Wright?" said a weak voice. Klein's voice.

"Klein?" Wright turned to the sound of the voice and discovered a pinkish cocoon with Klein's head. In the heat of battle, Wright had completely forgotten about him. "Dude! You're alive!" He ran over to him and used his sword to cut Klein out. Fortunately, unlike the other gooey traps, this one was already hard. He simply rubbed the thing against his sword, and the whole thing fell apart.

"Dude, why did you come back for me?" Klein coughed, his voice probably broken from all the dust he'd inhaled while being dragged here, "Time's already up. Kirito and the gang are already at Legrue," Klein sighed, "wondering how I f*ckd up this time."

"I guess. But I don't care if they end up thinking you're a lazy slob, or that you're not 'perfect' like Kirito," Wright stood up and offered his hand to Klein. "In my opinion, if Kirito doesn't appreciate how hard you tried to be on time, then he isn't a friend at all. And considering how you believe he'd take on an entire wave of bounty hunters for you, I'm pretty sure he'll just give you a punch in the shoulder for being such a pervert." Klein laughed, took Wright's hand, and stood up. "Besides, you got me right here, eh?"

"Yeah, I guess I do."

"AHEM" yelled a familiar voice behind them. They both turned around, and saw a sigh so surprising, it took Wright several seconds to process it.

"Oh hey Lisbeth, hello dark-haired lady." Wright said casually, before blinking several times. "Lisbeth, really, AGAIN!"

"Hey, I was barely conscious! Blame the head injury!" she protested, her throat inches away from a scythe that now had a fiery glow.

Their pursuer, sniper, whatever, had Elisabeth as a hostage. Funny enough though, Lisbeth was not his main focus. His main focus was the girl holding her in place. Before, he wasn't able to get a good look at her, but now that she had stopped moving (and was extremely pissed), Wright was able to finally 'see' her.

She looked about his age, 15, and had apparently been wearing a cloak the whole time they had been fighting; a cloak which he had knocked off her when he had attacked. It did explain why her hood was off. Right now, she was wearing a full piece of leather armor with carefully placed metal plates covering key points on the armor. This overlapped the body-covering clothes she wore underneath. Around her waist was a leather belt dotted with pouches and item holders-ready to deploy at a minute's notice.

Her face was white-skinned, with dark straight hair reaching until her neck. The most peculiar feature about her, however, was the intense amber eyes that seemed to stare into his soul. Oh wait, they were.

"Are you staring at me?" She gritted her teeth.

"I am?" Wright asked, confused, "Sorry, you just look familiar,"

"She does?" Klein raised an eyebrow suspiciously.

"I do?" she shook her head, "Stop it! You're just trying to distract me! I have your friend here, and I'm not letting go of her unless you do as I say!"

"Um," Klein said, "would you be willing to let her go if I fought you?"

"Wha…no! Only someone with their brain up their ass would make such a dumb choice!"

"She's definitely right about that," Wright muttered.

"Look, just, come with me, and I promise your friend won't get their throats cut out." She said. Unfortunately, Lisbeth had different plans.

"AW HELL NO!" Elisabeth yelled as she drove her shoulder up the amber-eyed girl's face, causing her to stumble backward and let go of her. Before she could recover, Lisbeth puller her over her shoulder, and tried to WWE slam her to the ground. Instead, amber-eyes simply stuck the landing, performed a cartwheel kick at Elisabeth, and performed the same move Lisbeth had been trying earlier; except this time, she threw Elisabeth at Klein. Unable to block the hit, Klein fell to the ground, as Wright moved in with a wide attack at amber (Wright decided to nickname her that).

She vaulted over the attack, and wither scythes glowing a fiery red, she thrust them at Wright. He leaped to the side; the weapons only scratching at his shoulders. However, as soon as Wright got back on his feet, he noticed that the scratch she had inflicted had started a small flame. Fortunately, being made out of Helheim steel, the fire soon died out. He looked at Amber, and started to notice that her scythes were burning a magma red. _That attack didn't look like a sword skill,_ he thought, _that weapon must have an elemental status, like mines._ With a smile on her face, she let out the chains connecting her arms to the scythes and began spinning them. From the speed she was spinning them at, it appeared she had activated a unique sword skill-probably of her own making. Wright raised Kaleidoscope to block, as the attack began to cut at his sword like a rotor blade against a brick wall.

"Run guys!" He yelled over the screeching sound of metal against metal. Amber's eyes opened at this and spotted Klein and Lisbeth staring at their fight. She immediately stopped attacking and pulled a knife out of her belt-glowing a light blue- throwing it at Klein.

 _NO!_ He thought.

"Klein!" Lisbeth yelled as the blade soared through the air. The distance had to be at least 25 ft. There wasn't enough time for them to unsheathe their weapon and dodge it. As a last resort, Lisbeth thoughtlessly jumped in front of Klein, hoping that she would be able to serve as a human shield. The knife was now 15ft

 _Pu_

 _13 ft. Klein's health was in the red._

 _fylla_

 _11 ft. The knife would pass over Lisbeth's head._

 _heilagr_

 _9ft. It would hit Klein in the gut._

 _austrr_

 _7ft. He would be teleported to Guiveniere._

 _brott_

 _5ft. His friends would be wondering where he was._

 _svalr_

 _3ft. It was all over._

 _Bani!_

 _1ft. He had failed again._

The knife made a deep SLIT as it cut into Klein's chest. And…nothing happened.

Klein had kept his eyes firmly shut, but now he opened them. The knife was simply stuck in his gut, slowly draining the HP out of his green health bar. _Wait a second, green?_ Wright was shocked. Confused, Klein slowly pulled the knife out of his chest, and set it back on the ground. Right before he was kicked in the head by a blue faery.

"Klein you dolt!" She yelled, "I can't believe you went ahead and got a bounty on your head! What did you do this time!"

"Hey Asuna…" He said, unable to stop himself from smiling. Not even when Asuna picked him up like a ragdoll and shook him harder than a bartender with a Margarito. "What's up?"

In response, Asuna slapped Klein across the cheek, before giving him a hug, "Shut up you idiot. I'm just glad you're alive,"

"Hey!" Wright yelled in the distance, currently being pinned down by Amber's fiery scythes, "Can you talk about this later!"

Klein's eye's shot up, "Oh yeah! We have to get to Legrue!"

"Sure, but later," Asuna began, her voice suddenly sounding distant, confused, "we still have to help that guy."

"I'm fine!" He yelled, dropping his sword as he tried to punch Amber in the gut. Likewise, she arm-locked him, headbutted him, then proceeded to throw him against the wall.

"Not for long!" She whooped, running towards Wright.

Klein grabbed Asuna's hand, "Don't worry, if he says he's fine, he'll be fine," And with that, Asuna, somewhat confused as to what was going on, Klein, happy that victory was so close, and Elisabeth, resisting the urge to kick Amber in her private parts (though that doesn't work for women, though), all ran away; leaving Wright and 'Amber' to their fight.

* * *

"So let me get this straight," Asuna began, as they ran through the final tunnel to Legrue, "of your own fault, you got into trouble,"

"Big time," Lisbeth smirked.

"With GM Guiveniere, who you promptly ran away from, only to find Wright to escort you safely to Legrue as fast as possible,"

"I wouldn't use the term 'escort?'" Klein said

"More like 'carrying,'" Lisbeth added

"And you're telling me that on the way, Wright managed to fend off a guild, Salamander army, the second best player in the game. And this amazing player has never been talked about before." Asuna said.

"Now that you mention it," Klein muttered, "He seemed pretty…lonely. Living in this lonely shack all by himself. It's probably just because he doesn't go out much. In virtual reality, I mean."

"Suit yourself," Asuna said, "I'm not satisfied with that explanation."

"Yes," Elisabeth said cynically, "but you'll have to be, because it's his own freaking business, and we should just be happy that we're all not pixie dust thanks to Asuna." Lisbeth took a hard look at Asuna. "How did you find us anyway?"

She shrugged, "Well, for starts, nobody really talked about Klein's bounty, since no one, not even information brokers, wanted anybody else to get the rewards; Klein's just lucky that I'm independent from my fairy clan, so I'm always staying up to date on the latest bounties. So, after discovering this whopping big bounty on your head, and knowing we had a raid today, I just got lucky. I guessed an entrance that you might take to Legrue, and on the way there, I just followed the sound of a sword magically being through a hole and, presto! I found you guys!"

"Well that clears things," Klein sighed, "Now if we can just convince Kirito that I had to use the bathroom on the way…"

Asuna laughed, "Yeah, he'll definitely fall for that. Personally, I don't know how you're going to convince him when he searches up your bounty. I think you're screwed,"

"Majorly." The trio of merry friend laughed again, before falling silent.

"Do you think Wright will be okay with that girl he was fighting?" Lisbeth asked them.

"Yeah I'm sure he'll be fine. He took down Eugene!"

"She did look tougher than Eugene though," Lisbeth added, "Eugene's just good at exploiting the system. That girl? She managed a series of fast moves without the aid of a sword skill. Maybe he does need help."

"Nah, the guy's to heroic. He'd be all," Klein majestically raised his hands to the heavens, " _I'm doing this for your own good!_ And block the entrance. Whatever happens, at least he doesn't die IRL, right?"

"Yeah," Asuna said, her voice distant, "no IRL stuff," Klein and Lisbeth looked at each other, worried.

"Asuna, are you okay?" Klein asked.

"What? Yeah, I'm fine. I've just been thinking about Wright that's all," Asuna tapped her head, "I could've sworn he reminded me of someone.

"Who could he have reminded you off?" Lisbeth said playfully, "A friend, bodyguard, or even," Lisbeth inched closer, "a boyfriend?"

Asuna shoved Lisbeth aside, "No! He doesn't remind me of Kirito! It's, it's just that, ugh, I'm sure I've seen him somewhere. That sword was the biggest giveaway."

"Wait, the sword was the giveaway? Not the face, or any other feature?" Klein stopped in front of Asuna, " Wait, are you suggesting that he's from SAO?" Asuna grimly nodded her head.

"I could've sworn I'd seen him at one point. I think…it was around the time Kirito and I were…"

"We're having at it?" Lisbeth interrupted, "trying grabbing the swordsman into your cave of wonders?" Once again, Asuna shoved her aside.

"You have got to stop with these jokes about me and Kirito! At first, they were funny, but now you say them all the time. Just StOoP!" Asuna yelled, as she suddenly spasmed onto the floor.

"Yeash girl, no need to be so dramatic," Lisbeth said before she too began to suddenly spasm on the ground.

"Lisbeth? Asuna?" Klein shook them, revealing a small dart on Lisbeth's back. Same case for Asuna. Before he could investigate further, a slender shadow appeared in front of him, assisted by several other hooded figures.

"Oh, how wonderful!" she said in cynical joy. "All I wanted was Klein, but now I've got two other hostages for Kirito! It's like they say,!"

 _Not again, for the last F*cking time!_ Klein thought, as the lady calmly spun a bright yellow arrow in her hands. "So, what do you want?" Klein asked.

Rosalia made a low tch noise, "oh, my little child, it's not you I want. It's your little Sprign friend," with the cold calculation of a tiger, Rosalia slowly notched the yellow arrow into her bow. "Added with a little spice of revenge," and with that, she took glory in the quiet SLIT as the weapon passed through his sweet flesh.

* * *

Wright swung Kaleidoscope in permafrost mode in an overhead arc on Amber. She calmly stepped to the side, her scythes drooping from her arms. Right now, she was playing with him.

"Oh boy, I thought you'd be tougher than this." She said, using her scythes to scratch at Wright's legs. Sure, it didn't do much damage, but it seemed like her main focus was to simply injure him until she could own him when his healthbar turned red.

"It doesn't matter how tough I am," Wright grunted, arms tired from lunging around the heavy sword, "you didn't get your bounty."

"I guess," she shrugged, "but I've got a much bigger prize now," she smiled at him, "you!"

Wright suddenly stopped attacking. "Me?" he asked.

"Well, why did you think I didn't kill that bounty as soon as I had him? Word was that you managed to beat Eugene in a fair fight! So, I thought that by killing you, I'd inadvertently beat Eugene!"

"And you knew I fought Eugene, how?"

"I...kind of watched you two fight. Great moves by the way!" she said as she currently kicked the piss right out of him.

"And when you saw me fight, you set up this whole thing: kidnapping Klein, waiting until we came here, like a quick test? To see if the slayer of Eugene was 'worthy' of fighting you?"

"Sort of!" She smiled, her face so innocent that you wouldn't notice that she had just kicked Wright into the wall. Literally. Wright felt like he was going to hurl. Just before Amber could do anymore damage, though, he used Kaleidoscope to shield himself in a massive ice wall. Inside Wright was considering his chances of winning. He already knew the problem thought: Kaleidoscope, though he could swing it fairly fast, was not fast enough for someone like Amber.

"You know," he said, trying to stall time, "this won't really mean you're the best player in the game. Every player has their own playstyle, and mines was just good enough to beat his. It's all in the preparation.

"I guess," Amber calmly responded, "but it'll still be a victory in my book. Too bad-your big manly weapon's not fast enough for these muscles," Though he couldn't see it, he could hear Amber audibly flex her muscles like a body builder. Wright couldn't resist releasing all of his stress in one good laugh. _Still, even she knows the problem. I could use Peny, but should I?_

 _I can do this with Kaleidoscope_

 _But she'll easily dodge it_

 _Unlike Peny, but still,_

 _It…isn't right. It's like_

 _Breaking a promise you want_

 _To keep forever._

 _Use it: win, live_

 _But it just feels,_ _wrong._ _Like, not using it would break something. Like taking apples from a cemetery,_

 _Or texting at a friend's house._

 _It_

 _Isn't_

 _Right._

Wright couldn't make the choice. He hadn't actually ever used Peny in actual ALO combat. Still, with his experience, he could make it work. But did he really want to disgrace Aian?

Before Wright could decide, Amber knocked on the shell of the wall. "Hey, are you sleeping or something? Come on out, it's just a video game." _There goes that word again_ Wright gritted his teeth; already agitated with his mental dilemma.

"It'll all be fine one you suck it up and admit defeat already! C'mon! I want that sweet breakfast loot!" Wright began to calm down. _She's right. It's just a video game. I was fine dying to Eugene. Why do I care what a random player says about me._ Wright was about to get out and finish this fight, fair and square, before Amber just HAD to go on.

"And guess what! You're sword's going to be on the menu, buddy! Because guess what? In the rules, the risk of protecting a bounty is that you may get your very own weapon taken!" Suddenly, a small _ping_ went of mentally in the back of his mind. He didn't care how much somebody hated his guts. But he couldn't imagine this sword being in any other hands than his own. At least, not in someone he trusted. With an anger he didn't know he had, Wright rapidly chose to equip Peny. He would show Amber that you never insulted, or took, Kaleidoscope.

* * *

Makoto had been through a roller coaster of a fight so far. First, the fight had been fun, well, except for the three-v-one thing, that seriously pissed her off, but it had still been a fight. When the other two had left, the fight turned temporarily serious, before old heavy swordsman got tired, and couldn't swing fast enough to hit her. And now he had locked himself in a wall of ice for several minutes without saying a word, and she was honestly getting concerned. She'd been told that she could be an ass before, but she had thought of it more as playful-asshole that everybody enjoys, and not actual-asshole. And it was that reason exactly why she didn't break down the walls of ice; it felt, rude. Like going to the house of your ex BFF, or something. She sighed, taking a breather on the ground.

 _Did I really hurt his feelings? I didn't even insult his mother yet_ she thought, whipping out a health potions. Though she'd managed to avoid most of his hits, he did manage to land a few good ones. Besides, she loved the taste of these health potions. They tasted like that moment when she had been 7 years old. She remembered it now. It was December, and the weather outside was chilly. She had been asking her parents why you couldn't put honey inside hot chocolate. They said it would ruin the flavor, but to her 7 year old ears, it wasn't something forbidden. So later that day, when no one was looking, she stole one of her sister's cup of chocolate milk, heated it, and practically drowned it in honey. Now that she thought about it, she was surprised she didn't set anything on fire, she was almost certain there had been a spoon inside that cup.

But health risks aside, the taste of her custom drink had been majestic. And when her parents found out (much to their surprise), they would forever hold the tradition of drinking 'honey chocolate' at her birthday every year. Or at least, they would. For a while.

Suddenly, the health potion tasted bitter, and she set the bottle down, sighing. In retrospect, she didn't know how she went from intense combat to relaxing on the cold hard stone, but she did know one thing: _I might've gone too far with the insults,_ she thought. _Maybe I should just apologize. The whole 'trap just to fight you' thing was…a little too much. Besides, it's just a game._

 _Maybe I should just apologize._ Before she could do the most sensible thing anybody could've done in that situation, the ice wall suddenly blasted into a thick layer of ice-colored particles. So thick, that she found herself coughing it out like a maniac.

"Dude!" she yelled. "What, were you vaping in there or something?" Out of the clouds, she saw Wright charge at her, his huge sword glowing a light blue, but not in a cold way. It was a sword skill, and a highly predictable one.

 _Looks like I'll have to apologize to him later,_ she thought, as she dodged to the right…

Right into the path of a fine-tipped spear. Surprised, she brought her scythes to block the attack, but the spear slipped through the gap between the weapons, and landed just a hair's breath away from her ear. She kicked Wright in the knees, or tried to. Wright was no longer the slow juggernaut he was several minutes ago, and was now moving with the precision of a panther. He dodged the kick, and went in for a jab. She barely managed to dodge to the side again before Wright swiped in her direction, cutting at her chest? Confused, she leapt several feet away from Wright to get a clear view of his new weapon.

It was a simple spear with a long wooden pole, and a sharp crescent blade that began at the tip of the pole, and curved until it hit the pole again. (Author's interruption: For any of you who've played Horizon Zero Dawn, the blade is shaped akin to Aloy's spear. Just to help your imagery) it was basically a sword crossed with a spear, though it definitely wasn't as flashy as any of the other weapons she had seen. Yet, from the way Tom had used the spear, she had no doubts that he knew how to use it.

"All right!" She yelled. "It is ON!" She charged at Wright's head-first. She swiped at Wright in a bear-hug motion; hoping Wright wouldn't be able to block both of her scythes. He instead used his spear to pole-vault over her, and tried landing on her head. She rolled to the side, but not before Wright could cut a little bit into her back. Irritated, she ran at him again, this time parrying a jab with one scythe, and using the other to swipe at Wright's head. He ducked the initial attack, but then she swiped in the opposite direction, and managed to give him a nasty cut across the cheek. He returned the favor by punching her in the face. The move was so sudden, she almost laughed. Based on her experience, you rarely every just _punched_ someone. But it was effective. She stumbled backwards, giving Wright the opportunity to try and impale her. She managed to block the attack, and began to use his spear as a leverage to her counter-attack.

And so the battle went, the duo constantly clashing, parrying, and chipping away at each's other's health bar. The problem wasn't that their weapons did so little damage, it was that none of them were able to score a good hit, and both had already healed to max health. But, within a minute of the fight, a game-changer happened.

Desperate, Makoto unleashed a sword skill called "Muspelheim's fury,"-a unique 7-hit combo skill she had gotten with the weapon and began to launch into a fiery tornado of an attack. Wright, without Kaleidoscope, had to resort to parrying the entire attack. Though successful on some of his parry's, he still took a bit of damage, before using his leg to sweep Makoto off her feet. She crashed to the floor on her back, witnessing Wright raise the spear above his head like some Jason Voorhees on Friday the 13th, and brought it crashing onto Makoto.

 _Aw sh*t!_ She internally cussed, before using her scythes to hold back the oncoming blade. With a loud DING, the three blades collided. Yet, Makoto knew that 'Tom' knew she was up against the floor, and continued to push with his weapon.

"Hey!" She screamed at Wright, his face literally sweating. "I know this might be a bad time to say something, but I'm really sorry I offended you. Like, honestly, I can be an ass sometimes. But it's just a game!" suddenly, Tom pressed even harder on her. "Like, we're all just playing and stuff," Makoto continued, "and if it were IRL, I might've been less of an ass! I'm not saying this so you'll spare me or something. I just think you might've been really offended by what I said, and I can relate. I'm just saying that it's just a game, so relax."

"Playing with people's feelings, friendships, emotions," he yelled," is not a F*CKING GAME!" Makoto was shocked by the amount of emotion in his voice. And suddenly, it all made sense to Makoto. Not that her ideas mattered anymore, when Tom's spear was now a hair's breathe away from impaling her through the nose. To her, it was game over. She could accept that. But then, why was she sweating like crazy? It wasn't from physical exertion, it was more like the sweat that sticks to your clothes. The kind you give off when you're scared. Frightened. Every time the blade came closer, she couldn't stop her hands from trembling. In that moment, she realized she was feeling something she hadn't felt for several months.

Virtual Death.

* * *

Wright was only inches away from her face. Inches. He could see the fear in her eyes. Just one more stab, then… _wait,_ he thought. His grip on Peny faltered.

 _The fear in her eyes. She looks scared out of her sh*t. Why am I doing this?_ All of a sudden, the sweet smell of victory tasted like salt. How could you enjoy it when your opponent looked like they were actually about to die? Instead of the confident badass he had seen a few moments ago, he just saw another terrified player. Another him. Wright's arms felt weak; he couldn't go through with it. He dropped Peny, letting the fatigue of the battle took a toll on him, and he fell to the ground, exhausted both physically and mentally.

He heard Amber take a deep breath of air she hadn't realized she was holding, as she slowly got up.

"Um, thanks for that?" she said. Before Wright could response, a loud sound erupted throughout the chamber. It was like the sound of a grandfather clock at 12 pm echoing throughout the whole place.

"Umm, what was that?" she asked.

"I don't know. Maybe it's our alarm clocks telling us how many bloody hours have passed since curfew." Wright joked, still laying on the ground.

"Well, I think it might be something worse," she dusted herself off, as she began to stand up. "We, should get moving."

"Nope!" Wright moaned. "I've been moving places all day! I'm not moving a single inch from this spot!" As If on cue, another loud sound echoed throughout the cavern. It sounded less like a clock, and more like…the gears of a giant contraption. As the emerging line across the center of the place would prove, the gears of a massive trapdoor were in motion. Wright was already running before Makoto could even so "Run!"

They ran towards the exit. _We can make it,_ Wright thought, _these floors are separating like horizontal sliding doors, and the exit is at the end of one of them. If we run faster than the closing floors, we could slide in!_ Easier said than done. Wright noticed that the floors had been horribly greased, because as they slid into the walls they shook the whole cavern. Bit by bit, the stalagmites Wright had seen earlier began to fall down on them. They both dodged them the best they could, before they ran into the inevitable. Just as they were several feet away from the exit, a massive boulder fell in front of it. Desperate, Wright ran full-tilt into the rock. He succeeded in dislocating his arm. Beside him, Amber also tried the same thing. Likewise, she also screamed out in pain.

"Dislocated your arm too?" she blew a raspberry at him. She turned to look behind her, and saw that the floor was slowly revealing a massive hole leading into the abyss.

"We've only got a few seconds of wall time left," she said, staring at the hole. "If we stay put, then this boulder will fall on top of us. We jump on three."

"Wait, what?"

"ONETWOTHREE!" she yelled, shoving Wright into the hole before she jumped in after him. Down into a hole with a bottom of darkness. Down into a frenzy of falling rocks.

Down, into the darkness of the unknown.

-To be continued in a chapter that I will probably break my fingers typing-


	5. Chapter 5: Beneath the Mountain

**Author's Note: I know I've been on Hiatus, but since the end to this segment of Wright's journey is so close to being finished, I'll try and get this chapter of Wright's story all wrapped up as soon as possible. Sooner than 1 month.**

 **Another problem:The story is called "The New Klie-nt," But it goes beyond Wright just protecting Klein. This leaves three options:**

 **1) Keep writing like normal**

 **2) Change the title of the story (if possible), or...**

 **3) Make a new story and call it a more accurate name.**

 **I'm leaning more towards option 1. Just a note for whoever is interested in the story. Other than that, enjoy this fanfiction based of Reki Kawahara's anime, Sword Art Online.**

* * *

As the air rushed through his hair, Wright remembered the phrase: "It's not the fall that kills you. It's the landing." That much was true. Though he had only been falling for a couple of seconds, he was in no absolute pain. It's just that whoever said it forgot about the falling rocks above them.

Above them, dozens of carefully-placed stalactites were now plunging into the void with them. At the speed they were going, they'd only have a few seconds after hitting the ground until the rocks crushed them like broken dreams.

Of course, flying would be the logical solution in this situation. Yet, when Wright tried to activate his wings, they wouldn't work. _Weird,_ he thought, _this might be one of those 'no fly zones.'_ To make matters worse, the walls of the hole were smooth with nothing that Wright could grab on to.

"Hey, Amber!" he screamed over the rushing wind, but she didn't respond. _Oh right, Amber's not her real name. So how do I…_ "Hey idiot!" he yelled again, this time getting the attention of Amber, "Do you have any ideas on how to get out!?"

"Somewhat!" she tilted her body until her head was face-first towards the ground. She put her arms together. "Ek verpa einn brandr muspilli kalla bresta bani steypa lundr drott!" she yelled as her hands did several hand signals. Suddenly, a massive fireball shot out of her hands. It traveled for several seconds before exploding against the ground, setting it on fire. Through the make-shift illumination, Wright saw that below them the ground tilted to the right; possibly meaning that there was a cavern of some sorts. They had a chance to avoid the rocks, if they could stick the landing.

"Great! Now you need to get over here!" he yelled, the ground coming ever closer into view. Fortunately, she wasn't in a judgmental mood, and used her scythes to position herself just behind Wright. Wright raised his right hand, and Kaleidoscope flew into his grasp. "Here goes nothing!" he pointed Kaleidoscope towards the ground, and shouted several words of power. With an almost blinding flash, Kaleidoscope turned a blinding blue and shot a laser towards the ground. When it made contact, the ground began to freeze over with ice that slowly made its way up to meet the laser.

A slope made out of ice. "YEAH!" Wright screamed as they hit the very top of the slope, slid down, and skid several times off the ground like bouncing pebbles. Luckily, their momentum carried them several meters away from the hole they'd fallen through, so when the rocks began to tear Wright's slide apart, they were safely out of harm's way.

"omygoshwemadeit!" Wright yelled excitedly. Behind him, Amber laughed.

"Yeah, we sure…" suddenly, Amber's eye's widened in fear. "Hey! You have something behind your back!"

"What?" Wright started looking at his back like a dog chasing their own tail, "where, where?"

Amber came closer, "It's this word on the back of your shirt. It might be a curse," she whipped out her scythes,  
"I'm just going to cut it off," Wright shut his eyes, until he realized what she was talking about.

"Hey wait wait wait!" He jumped several feet away from her, "It's not a curse! It's a cosmetic!"

"What?" she sheathed her scythes. The 'curse' she had been talking about was round black circle with an large writing in Japanese:  
偽造 (Roughly meaning Gizo, or 'forgery)

The letters were displayed in black letters in the center of Wright's back. What had caused Amber to think that it was a curse was the fact that the symbol was levitating slightly from Wright's clothing, like a hologram. "That's a weird cosmetic to have. Are you sure it's not something else?"

"Nope, I'm sure," Wright sighed, "let's just find a way out of here." Wright took in his surroundings, and he was genuinely confused by what he saw. All around them was a vast cavern, with the area behind them inaccessible due to stalagmites taller than houses. Same for the walls to their side. The only way out, besides flying (or in-game death) was through….

a massive gate. Right in front of them.

"Wow," Amber said behind him, "that has to be at least 10 times your height." Indeed it was. The gate was made out of a navy-blue marble. At its sides were two massive column's supporting an arc at the top. On the arc was a skull, except its eye sockets were crossed out in blood.

"Just curious, your wings aren't working either, right?" Amber shook her head. "What if we used in-game death to teleport out of here?"

Amber shook her head again, "ALO has penalties for KYS. And if we tried to kill each other, then one of us would be stuck here with the other's weapon."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Anyone who's a friend or a party member of the target of a bounty can have their equipped weapon taken by any bounty hunter who signed up for the bounty. It works both ways. I signed up for the bounty, Miss Guiveniere gave me the teleportation knives, and I hunted your friend. Likewise, if you're in the same party as Klein, whoever kills the other gets to keep the opponents weapon." Amber put her hands on her hips, "I thought you were some expert bounty hunter. Shouldn't you know all this?"

"Did you base that off my fighting?" Wright shrugged, "That's just practice"

"Against what? Those lifeless AI training bots with as much intelligence as a toaster?" Amber's face became rigid, like a robot. "BEEP BOOP I CANNOT UNDERSTAND LOVE. I AM IN ETERNAL PAIN." Her expression was so spot on that Wright couldn't resist laughing, until he realized something.

"Um, about that bounty thing…" Wright opened his menu, and selected ITEM POUCH

"What?" Amber looked over Wright's shoulder. Not that hard, they were both of similar heights. "It's just to make the…omygosh" On Wright's screen, there was a whole bunch of weapons of the enemies he had fought. Cometh's silver-tipped sword, a couple of boring weapons, an Eugene's demonic sword, Gram.

"I'm…going to have to return these," Wright muttered reluctantly.

"Aw, c'mon!" Amber moaned, "You won them fair and square! You aren't obliged to return them."

"But I don't want to be paranoid about Salamander troops invading my home 24/7," Wright sighed as he closed his menu. "I'd rather live in peace than arm mines around my house every time I logged in."

"Sure, I guess," Amber muttered. "But we can both agree Gram looks cool as heck, right?"

"Definitely." Wright closed his inventory. "Whelp, off to the dungeon of death!" before he could walk to their imminent doom, Amber pulled him by the shirt. "Hey!"

"Just wait a second," Amber pulled out her menu, and selected SQUAD option. Soon, a friend invite popped up in Wright's menu. "Can't have you running around on low health. We're a team now."

"Sure," Wright selected the FRIENDS option of his menu, and saw Amber's friend request, alongside Klein's. On the way to Legrue, Wright had friended Klein to make his 'bodyguard' business official. For a quick moment, Wright clicked on it, and saw that Klein was on his way to Legrue. Great.

On the other hand, he was motionless; just steps away from the bridge to Legrue. Hopefully, whatever was going on, Klein had it handled. Wright had bigger problems to deal with. With a click, Wright accepted Amber's invitation, and her health bar appeared in the top right corner. That's when he let loose a vigorous laugh.

"What's so funny?" she demanded.

"Your name's Makoto?"

"Yeah? So?"

"Sorry. It's just that that's the same name as a girl in this movie I watched,"

"What was it called?"

" _The Girl Who Leapt Through Time,"_

"Oh, I've watched that movie before," Makoto sighed, "great ending."

"Agreed,"

"Then why are you laughing?" Makoto asked

"Because," he began, "I used to ask everyone in my middle school if they'd watch it. Nobody said yes. And finally, after several years of asking, I finally find someone who has watched it!" Wright broke into another fit of laughter, "Funny how life brings people together."

Makoto began walking towards the gate, "Well I'm glad I made your day, but we have to get moving. Tomorrow's a school day and I prefer to have a good night's rest," she winked at Wright, "am I _WRIGHT?"_ Wright stopped laughing.

 _What have I just done?_

* * *

Rosalia was stuffed with ectasty as she felt her arrow pass through Klein's head. Her senses expanded as she heard her arrow pass through Klein's stomach. Or, at least, she thought it was _Klein's_ stomach. That moment of relish turned sour when she realized that was just the huge dark sword that currently stuck out of her abdomen. If her lungs had been working, she would've politely asked her comrades why they hadn't warned her of her current predicament. Sadly, they were already dead. Before Rosalia could say a single thing, she burst into a ball of fire. Behind her, bathed in white holy light, a young teenager stood. He gracefully sheathed his sword behind his back effortlessly, the wind rustling through his hair, his teeth set in a perfect ro…

"Asuna! Asuna!" Klein waved his hands in front of her. He turned to the perfect man besides him. "Are you sure those Anti-para (Anti-paralyzing) potions you gave her worked?" Kirito nodded.

"Yes, she should be okay."

"Kirito!" she yelled, leaping up from the ground, wrapping him in her hug. "You came to save us!"

"Yeah. Agil and the rest of the group were tired of waiting for you three. So we decided to do a quick perimeter check around Legrue to see if something was holding you up," Kirito gestured to the several life-force balls around them. "Were these guys holding you up?"

"Well, they weren't…" Lisbeth began.

"That big of a deal for the most part," Klein hastily interrupted, "At least, until they ambushed us." Klein finished.

"So that's why you have some wingless curse on you?" Kirito asked.

"Yeah. I was…logging into the game when they hit me with that spell as I was flying here. Good thing Asuna and Lisbeth helped me out!" Klein awkwardly smiled. _At least half of it is true,_ he thought.

"Well, I don't know why'd they ambush you, but one of them seemed oddly familiar…" Kirito sighed, "Never mind. I'm just glad you're all safe and sound," Asuna's heart skipped a beat. She moved in to kiss Kirito.

"Aww," Klein said, "how swe…"

"Hey! Guys, do you know what time it is?" Lisbeth shoved herself between the two, "Oh yeah! Raid time! We should really get going, don't want to miss out on that raid and all that,"

"Yes, about that," Kirito began, "we have a problem. My mistake, really," Behind him, Klein's eye's popped out of his head.

"Kirito," he whispered, "made a mistake?" He took in a deep breath, "YEA-"Kirito turned around, "-h what's the problem Kirito?"

* * *

Based on his first glance, the gate to this 'dungeon' made Wright think that they were about to walk into a horror show of dead bodies, monsters out of the nightmares of nightmares, and a special encore by a rock 'n roll band called RAGNAROK. What he got instead was hallways.

Just. Hallways.

The floor of each hallway was made of cracked stone, same for the walls. Above them, in contrast, was smooth marble the color of indigo. Supporting this roof were stone arcs supported by massive columns. To observe this fascinatingly mundane architecture, the area was seamlessly lit by an unknown light source. To be fair, the intricate design of the place was amazing. On the other hand, once you knew what one hallway looked like, you knew them all. Wright would've blamed it for being in development, he didn't think that was the case. Already, monsters were spawning everywhere, from the not-so-terrifying 4-eyed frogs to oh-my-gosh-that's-alive monsters. They monsters seemed to already have pre-programmed AI that showed as they roamed the dungeon, occasionally screaming and fighting each other. Nothing out of the ordinary, besides the 4-eyed frogs.

Furthermore, besides the lack of aesthetics, the dungeon functioned as it should. There were the occasional traps, crates, and puzzles. So if the dungeon was working fine, and the monsters AI seemed normal, then its design wasn't a mistake. To Wright, the place wasn't huge and monotonous for the sake of being in development; it was huge and monotonous to surprise the player. To set them off guard until some massive beast came forth and ripped them to shreds. It might've just been him thought; Makoto seemed fine with it. Still, the numerous corners and paths almost seemed to be hiding something. And were, strangely, familiar.

Naturally, the dark and dangerous aura the dungeon emitted prevented the two from starting any conversation. At least, for a while.

"Soo," Makoto said as she wiped the frog guts off her scythes, "what's your theory on how we got here?"

"Makoto, I'm not in the mood to talk. Its 10 minutes to midnight.

"Sorry," Makoto passed him a flask full of a yellow liquid. "If you're tired, just take a sip of some adrenaline juice." Wright stared at it.

"You're giving me piss juice?"

"No it isn't! It's from an Endurian eagle, found around these very mountains!" Wright shrugged and took a sip. "But it is made out of their saliva." Wright stopped drinking.

"Thanks for the advice," he handed the map back to Makoto. "Okay, about your question. I think that we entered the cave at a certain time, triggering the massive trapdoor," Wright opened his menu, "okay…it's about 21:49. We fell about 7 minutes ago…"

"12:42," Makoto muttered, "You know, you may be WRIGHT," Wright groaned.

"How come?"

"Well look at the facts. 42 is an unlucky number in Japan. Furthermore, today is June 20th. In the Japanese calendar, today would be Butsumetsu; the day when the Buddha died, and is considered a day of bad luck,"

"So that glitch I found? Every time it was Butsumetsu I heard loud groans coming from that general direction around certain times; it's how I found the area in the first place. I must've been too slow climbing through that crack in the ceiling to actually see it happen.

"Piecing it together, you're right Wright." Makoto rubbed her chin, not even laughing at her unintended pun, "A dungeon in a game by Japanese developers triggering on unlucky events in Japan is probably the reason we're here, so you're right. Though when you consider unlucky days and numbers in Japan, it's funny that arriving in a dungeon based on bad luck without knowing when to enter it requires some pretty good luck…or bad luck?

Wright blinked for a moment, "I think you're overthinking this. And, hey, when did you learn all this?"

"Well, my grandma was all into the whole superstition thing," Makoto explained, "I guess a thing or two got stuck in my head,"

"Good to know. Is there anything else you wanted to say?"

"Actually, yeah," Makoto opened her inventory and pulled out a map they had discovered early on in the dungeon.

"According to this map, we're apparently directly underneath Legrue."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. After another WRIGHT, then a left, there's just a straight shot to some massive area with a ladder leading to some an exit in Legrue,"

"Great, we're almost done," Wright said, excited.

"Of course, the exit comes after a spiked-maze, several hidden pitfall traps, and a puzzle including an ocarina of time? What the heck is an ocarina?" Wright groaned.

"Makoto, are you serious?"

"Yeah. What a bummer. But," she continued, "There's a junction up ahead. If we go left, we could take a route straight to the exit."

"Sweet, let's take that one,"

"Sure. Just don't go ahead yet," Makoto knelt onto the ground, pulling out her scythes, "I just need to sharpen my weapons." She reached into her pocket; pulling out a red whetstone. "Hey, when was the last time you sharpened your sword?" Wright examined his sword's edge. The edge had become blunt, and there were even several cuts into it from his fight with Makoto. Just, horrible.

"Thanks for the reminder Makoto," he knelt down to sharpen it. Instead of using a whetstone, though, he muttered several words of power, and his hand glowed a dim orange. He then used his hands like a whetstone, sharpening the blade. Makoto just stared, mouth agape.

"You can do that?"

"Yeah. Its Leprechaun magic," he smirked.

"But, if you have Leprechaun-exclusive magic, then," she paused, "why do you have Salamander wings?" Wright stopped sharpening.

"How did you figure that out?"

"Well, I was following Klein since I discovered the bounty on him, so I saw the fight you had near your shop, and the one you had with Eugene." Wright's face flushed in embarrassment. "You fought pretty well."

"Thanks,"

"Still, what's up with that?"

"Oh, I paid some artist on ALO to edit it. See, Leprechaun's get mechanical wings, so they can be adjusted, despite having no metal parts and whatever." Wright pointed at the weird symbol on his back. "If I could use my wings, then the symbol for the Leprechaun race would appear on the outside of the symbol thing."

"Okay, that makes sense. But I don't think that symbol is a cosmetic. I've never seen it before…"

Wright sighed, "Are you really interested," Makoto nodded her head.

"Okay. Several months ago, I…kind of cheated the game. You remember when the World Tree mission was a big thing?"

"Yeah, lots of people tried to get to the top, but they couldn't fly high enough,"

"Well, emphasize on flying," Makoto stared, then started laughing.

"Wait," she began, "you tried _climbing_ the World Tree?"

"The skybox wasn't up yet, it seemed like it was worth a shot. Anyway, I only managed to get to that area with the massive birdcage before some octopus thing saw me."

"Are you talking about Finding Dory?"

"Wha…No!" Wright stared at her, "Anyway, they gave me this mark and literally threw me off the World Tree."

"Considering you might be talking about crazy Oberon's helpers, that makes sense," Makoto said, "but why would it say "Falsaris?"

"Oh, it means 'forgery' in Dutch. I searched it up later," Wright began rubbing his chin. "Now that I think about it, it might've been an attempt to frame me as a hacker. I've seen several people with the same mark, and they all hacked ALO one way or another."

"So you told me so that I wouldn't think you were actually a hacker…" Makoto said, "Okay. But what evidence do I have that you're hacking your strength stat, huh?" Makoto pointed accusingly at the sword Wright was carrying.

"It's made from multiple light metal-types. Still, my strength stat is barely enough to help me lift this thing; it's like using a weight as a weapon,"

"Okay. So say I believe you. If you aren't a hacker, why didn't you just ask the admins to remove it? I'm sure they would've done it given your circumstances,"

"I tried, but I called during the whole 'brain washing' scandal investigation, so I couldn't really get any help with it. Eventually, I gave up, and lied that it was a cosmetic."

"Wow. That's some low level stuff right there," Makoto paused. "Why did you even try to climb the World Tree? To post it on OurTube?

"No, I didn't even film the attempt. It was…because I was impatient. I thought I'd only be playing ALO for a month,"

"A month? Why?"

"I thought I'd find this special item in the game that was mega powerful on another MMORPG. I was frustrated that it didn't seem to show up anywhere else, so I thought it might be hidden in the World Tree. Turns out I was wrong." Wright suddenly looked distant as he stood up and began walking again.

"Is it the reason you use that sword instead of you spear?"

"Uh, yeah. I…Found out on Gamer Leak that you needed it to find the item. I got used to the weapon, with my high STR stat and all," Wright fell silent.

 _It's a lot more than that,_ Makoto thought, but she didn't want to pressure him again. The memory of his distraught face caused her stomach to churn with guilt. "Look. I'm going to believe your story; you don't seem like the type of guy who'd cheat. And… I'm sorry about before when we were fighting. I know I already apologized, but you were angry back then, so I just want you to know that I am really sorry for being a jerk," she looked at Wright, "apology accepted?"

Wright smiled. "Aww, thanks." He came in for a hug. Makoto took several steps back.

"Whoa whoa whoa, personal space. We're still complete strangers," Makoto raised out her hand. "Handshake?" Wright nodded, and shook her hand.

"Sure," he said.

"Al righty then!" Makoto brought her map up again. "Oh. On second thought, you know that faster ex Machina route? Let's just take the slower exit; there's a warning about the route on the map: ' _Danger'._ "

"Well, that warning came a little late,"

"You should be taking this more seriously. We're walking in a bad-luck dungeon on Butsumesu, the unlucky day of unlucky days. It's practically forbidden to get _married_ on this day."

"I'm not into that superstition stuff, unless you count the Star Wars theory that Jar Jar is the Sith…"

"That theory deserves to die a cold, lonely death," Makoto stared at Wright. She sighed, "Look, my gut is telling me that we should just take the slow route on this one,"

"Alright Makoto. You go ahead and do that. Have fun at school tomorrow," when they reached the junction, Wright took a left.

"You're going alone?"

"I'm going on the fastest route to bed. So if you're too much of a scaredy cat to face a little bad luck, I'm going without you."

"Sure," Makoto smiled. _He's bluffing._

Wright took one step. Then another. He looked behind him. "I said, I'm going without you!"

"I heard that!"

"You'll be all alone, no company!"

Makoto laughed, "I played _FNAF_ at midnight. I think I can handle being alone."

"Alright then!" Wright took one more step, before he ran back to Makoto. "Good luck to you!"

"You too!" Wright's walk began to slow to a crawl. Then he just stopped.

"You know something's there too, don't you?" Makoto called after him.

"Yes," Wright yelled.

Makoto groaned. "And you don't think you can take it on alone,"

"Uh, yeah," Wright said, turning around with big puppy eyes, "So help me please?"

Makoto sighed, the look all too familiar to her. "Fine." She walked to Wright's side, then gave him a shoulder punch, "That's for exploiting me,"

"Exploiting you _how?"_

Makoto muttered, "Puppy dog eyes," Wright barely blinked as he stared at her. He opened his mouth to say something. "And if you make fun of me for that, I'll shove a scythe down your throat and see how long it takes to come out the other side," Wright closed his mouth.

* * *

After everal minutes of walking, victory was within their sights. Ahead of them a doorway covered in blinding light yearned for them to come.

"Well, this is it," Makoto said, "that doorway should lead to the area leading all the way to Legrue."

"Finally, a way out," Wright broke into a run, happy to finally leave this place.

"Wait a second," Makoto muttered, "large empty hallway, no enemies," Makoto's eye's shot open in horror, "Wright get down!"

Too late. Wright's foot crossed a magical threshold. Around them, a sudden BOOM shook the dungeon, as the walls began to morph into images of space. He was stunned. It was like looking outside the window of the ISS; the Earth just behind him. So, beautiful. And so…familiar…

* * *

 _Wright and Aian were waiting outside the entrance of a lightless tunnel. Aian leaned against one of the columns, his eyes fixed on the tunnel; the mark of any true leader. Meanwhile, Wright was laying on the ground; trying to balance the bottom of his spear on his nose._

" _Wright, you're going to cut yourself," Aian chastised him._

" _Don't worry, I'm on full HP. Besides, I've heard that the hitboxes of the nose are a bit messed up, so if I can just hit the sweet spot…" Satisfied, Wright let go of his spear. It fell down in the space between his legs with a loud THUMP. He screamed the only way a man who has lost his pride can._

 _Aian snorted, "That's going to drop more than your HP,"_

" _What's dropping?" Out of the tunnel a figure emerged. He wore a cloak covered in colorful leaves. At first, they were a dark purple and cobblestone blue. Now, they transformed to their original green. The suit covered his entire body, but Wright wouldn't have needed x-ray vision to know that under that Ghillie suit he was wearing the classic 10,000 coin vintage blood-red overcoat over his black sweater. He would both brag and wear it everywhere, even on the hottest of days. He was the (literal) killer fashion enthusiast infamously known as Jacques. Though because of his high pickpocketing and stealth stats, along with his bargaining nature, his guild had nicknamed him Jacq ass. "It better not be my reward,"_

" _Ah nothing, just Wright being an idiot,"_

" _AincradLeaks lied!" he screamed. Jacques merely shrugged and stretched out his palm._

" _Payment, please," Aian's right eye ticked._

" _Not until you show the images first,"_

" _Oh, but what assurance do I have that you won't strangle me out of a fair deal, hmm? A man has to make an honest living somehow," Jacques laughed as he opened hismenu. He selected IMAGES and uploaded several pictures to Aian's mail. Aian quickly scanned over them before he handed a duffel of coins to Jacques. It was then he noticed that Jacques had one more image waiting._

" _Extra cost?"_

" _If you want the real deal, yes."_

" _Okay," Wright got up and went through his inventory. "I'll pay."_

" _Really?" Jacques and Aian said simultaneously._

" _Sure, why not?" Wright took out a small pouch and offered it to Jacques. Suspicious, he looked inside the bag. Satisfied, he closed the bag, and sent the last picture over to Aian._

" _Pleasure doing business with you gentlemen," with that, Jacques's suit merged with the shadows, and he disappeared._

" _Hey Wright, what was inside the bag?"_

" _A dagger I made. Made out of a combination of speed ore and steel; lightweight enough for espionage, heavy enough to do serious damage." Aian just stared at Wright._

" _What was it called?" Wright giggled._

"' _My Last F*ck'"Aian slapped him on the back. "Hey!"_

" _No cussing! I don't want you getting into the habit of it."_

" _Sorry. Seriously though, I just hope he savors it. It REALLY was my last one," Wright giggled. "so what did the last image look like?"_

" _I haven't seen it yet,"Aian opened the image file. It was an image of outer space, at least, it looked like that. The image was like the other monotonous purple hallways that had been in the previous images, except this one had their walls now replaced with an image of space. Secondly, the hallway had a white light at the end of it. The weirdest thing though was that there was a dark figure floating in front of it._

 _Wielding a massive scythe._

 _Despite not being able to clearly see its features, Wright shivered at the image; lost for words. "That's…terrifying,"_

 _Aian nervously chuckled, "Yeah, no wonder he wanted the bonus on this one." He closed his menu, "come one, Sao is soo going to lose our bet after she discovers this dungeon is too high level."_

" _Whatever you say man. I'm just glad that we don't have to fight that thing." Wright said._

* * *

Wright blinked. Before, there was nothing but the light of the doorway in front of him. Now, there was the shadow of a scythe ready to decapitate him.

 _AW SHOOT!_ He flinched, expecting the blow to come. Just then, he felt a force swipe him off his feet. He fell backwards, his nose missing the blade by inches, before the same force hefted him over her shoulder. Makoto was holding him over her back like a sack of potatoes.

"YOU'RE HEAVY!" she yelled, dropping him.

Wright was barely able to speak, "Holy cow…Yeah, it's probably the sword. By the way, what's your fastest reflex time?"

"LATER!" she screamed, pointing at the figure that had attacked them, "We have to deal with the LITERAL PERSONIFICATION OF DEATH ITSELF!"

He looked at the attacker and his jaw dropped. It was named _THE FATAL SCYTHE._ A tall, cloaked figure several meters high, floating above the ground like a ghost. His dark cloak was tattered, the very ends of it a bloody red.

 _We meet again,_ He thought. Wright got up and positioned himself near Makoto.

"Makoto, you okay?" he called

"I'm fine, let's just drag this thing to hell!" she ran at the skeleton. With a single motion, the figure swept his body-long scythe through the width of the hallway. Makoto slid under the attack, and leapt to stab into the thing's clothing. The Fatal Scythe didn't like that, and tried to swat her off. She back flipped of his body, and landed right in front of another attack. Wright ran in to block the attack, before Makoto yelled, "no!" and shoved him to the side. Scythe, clearly confused at the failed teamwork, tried to hit the both of them. Instead, he hit none of them-his scythe slamming into a column, cutting it in half.

"What was that for?" He yelled.

"Saving your life! We have no idea how strong this thing is!" Makoto took a step back. She threw her scythe at the monster. It simply cocked his head to the side, then did a massive counter-swipe. Wright swung his sword at the wooden end of the blade. Instead of cutting it in half, the scythe bounced of his sword, missing Makoto. The force of the blow took out a portion of Wright's health bar and knocked him into a nearby column.

"It's pretty strong!" Wright panted, "We don't have time for this, let's just run!"

"Sure!" Makoto ran at the grotesque creature. It saw her, and slammed its scythe onto the ground. Makoto jumped onto the weapon's wooden handle and ran along it. When the monster was about to swing the weapon again, she jumped off the handle and used her scythes to grapple beneath the monster; sliding underneath it. "C'mon!" she yelled to Wright.

Wright ran towards her, faking a right, then jumping left to confuse the monster. It missed him, and he was soon beside Makoto, running towards the blinding light.

"There will be a massive cavern up ahead... Ignore everything you see and go straight for that ladder!" Makoto yelled just before them, together, ran into the blinding light.

When they passed through the doorway, Wright had to take wipe the black spots the doorway had made into his eyes. When his vision cleared, he saw that they were inside a massive dome. At the very center of it, a ladder to freedom. He saw that Makoto was already several meters ahead of him; her legs as fast as a black-Friday shopper. She looked behind her. "C'mon Wright!" She yelled.

Adrenaline coursing through his body, Wright ran full speed towards the ladder as Makoto began to reach and climb up it. Wright was just about to reach it when a loud explosion erupted behind him. On the ladder, Makoto yelled, "Wright look out!" Instinctively, Wright leapt to the side just as a massive scythe passed over his head. The Fatal Scythe then swept its scythe at Makoto. She jumped to the next bar; the scythe scraping at her feet. Unfortunately, the scythe didn't miss the ladder. With a loud screech, the scythe cut through the ladder like a 1,000 degree knife through butter. The bottom part of the ladder fell with a clang onto the floor, while Makoto hung from the top part. The skeleton looked up at her, emitting a low sound like bones being banged against each other.

With both arms, The Fatal Scythe raised its scythe as high as it would go, the tip of it hovering above Makoto's head. With a sinister laugh, it brought its scythe back for a fatal attack.

 _I've got to save her!_ Wright thought.

 _My attack's not fast enough. Even she could only land a couple of hits._

 _Then maybe I could…_

 _NO TIME!_

Wright prepared a martial-arts Sword skill, leapt, and punched the monster on the bridge of his nose. The attack barely fazed it, and its two eyes narrowed on Wright's body. With a cackle, it began to open its mouth as if to swallow him. Before he lost his grip on its face, Wright heard the sound of fire behind him. The Fatal Scythe saw it before he did. It dropped him to avoid a massive on-coming fireball. The fireball had missed but it managed to set the edges of the creature's cloak on fire. For the first time, it looked terrified, and began beating away at its coat.

"Not looking to hot, huh?" Someone taunted behind him. It was Makoto! She had gotten off the ladder, despite her opportunity to escape, and was preparing to cast another fireball spell.

"That's not going to work" He said.

"Yeah, that fireball drained half my mana but hey! At least we now know its weakness!"

"Sure, but how did you know what its weakness was?"

"Common sense. Most undead creatures have a weakness for fire," Makoto replied, "and because burning terrifying abominations usually does the trick. I mean, it works with cockroaches."

"Gross, but the fire thing gives me an idea," Wright's eyes lit up, "Aha! Makoto, Do you know what switching is?"

"Yes. Two people switching positions to confuse a monster. Why?"

"You'll figure it out!" Wright drew out Kaleidoscope. "When I say go, you try and attack the thing with your scythes. But they have to be on fire, got it?"

Makoto nodded, "Got it."

"CHARGE!" Adrenaline coursed through his veins as he ran full speed at The Fatal Scythe. If skeletons could smile, this one would. It raised its scythe over its head. "Now Makoto!" Makoto leapt upward and swiped her fiery scythes in at its face. Suddenly, The Fatal Scythe reared back in fear as Wright slid underneath it. With a guttural cry, Wright plunged Kaleidoscope deep into the monster's spine. With a shriek, the skeleton cried out in pain and turned to face Wright; it's eyes glowing a bloody red. There again Makoto was-right in its face. She drove her flaming scythes across the creature's chest.

It screamed out in pain and took several steps back; beating at its chest as Wright took his sword and landed a devastating upper slash on it. The blow was so hard he could've sworn he heard a bone crack. The blow caused it to retreat by several feet before lunging at him; it's scythe like a Knight's lance. Wright threw Kaleidoscope in its path as he stepped to the side, the sword freezing itself into the ground. Too late, The Fatal Scythe ran face-first into the sword, creating a nasty mark on its face. It shrieked like a banshee before charging at the unarmed Wright. "A little help?"

Makoto launched herself onto the creature's back and dug her scythes in like cat claws. The Fatal Scythe didn't stop charging at Wright though. Wright jumped as The Fatal Scythe's weapon scraped his feet. It did a sharp 180 degree turn to cut at Wright again before Makoto managed to smack the hilt of her weapon on its eye. The monster shrieked in pain as it immediately stopped charging at Wright and began to attacking Makoto. It turned its head side-to-side as Makoto hung on for dear life.

She finally let go, only to use her scythes to wrap around the skeleton's neck, launching herself back on to the creature and putting it into a chokehold; the chains burning at its neck.

"Wright!" she yelled, "I think its aggro has something to do with its eyes. I've got an idea, just attack it!"

Wright summoned back Kaleidoscope. He began a sword skill that hit the monster with several brutal hits. Once again, The Fatal Scythe screamed and tried to lash out at Wright. Makoto took the sharp end of her scythe and dug it into the skeleton's right eye. It screamed in pain.

"WEAKPOINT!" she vigorously yelled as she began to keep attacking it.

Wright finally realized what she was doing. By keeping the monster's attention, instead of constantly switching, they could both attack the monster at the same time faster. _Clever Girl._

"Go Makoto!" he yelled as he ran to unleash a barrage of hits upon the monster. Meanwhile, Makoto was gouging the monster's eyes so enthusiastically that even a Spartan would be repulsed at the sight. It was a little terrifying in the moment, but Wright didn't care. They were winning.

Eventually, their barrage of attacks managed to bring the monster's imposing health into the red. Makoto saw this and leapt of The Fatal Scythe's back and ran to Wright's side.

"I'm going to do a finishing fireball, it should be able to kill it!" Wright looked at Makoto.

"You sure?" Wright asked, "I mean, unless you've got a wand or something you can't do a spell at it's full power," Makoto nodded.

"I can do it, Just get it to stop moving!" With that, Makoto began take a demonic potion out of her pouch and began chugging like a trash down the incenerator.

Seeing this, The Fatal Scythe screamed at them and began to charge towards Wright. It swiped to the right as Wright jumped over it. He turned and caused Kaleidoscope to glow a bright blue. He cut at the lower part of the skeleton's cloak; a chunk of ice forming on it. The Fatal Scythe retaliated and swung at him again. Wright slid underneath The Fatal Scythe. After the slide Wright cut at The Fatal Scythe's clothing again. Another chunk of ice stuck to the skeleton's clothing. He then repeated this process. Wright knew that using Kaleidoscope to keep the ice from breaking (as it would in an ice-related sword skill) was mana-consuming and did little damage. That wasn't his goal though. After a minute of cutting, Wright retreated to get a good look at his work.

Several chunks of ice hung on The Fatal Scythe like lead weights. It was barely able to hover above the ground, and began to show difficulty moving. A perfect target.

"I've slowed him down Makoto, do it!" Wright yelled as Makoto dropped the last attack-boosting potion onto the ground. She began to take her stance. Oddly enough, she didn't take out a wand of any kind.

" _Ek verpa einn brandr muspilli kalla bresta bani steypa lundr drott!"_ She yelled as the circling words began to form a sentence. In addition to her yelling the words, she began to form multiple hand signals with her hands. As she did this, a fireball began to form on the palm of her hands. With a yell, she thrust her hands Goku-style towards the monster as the fireball exploded into a beautiful display of smoke. Her hand smoking, she dusted the heat off with satisfaction. "And now we're done with that."

"Yeah. Good job Makoto. Say, how did you cast that spell?" Wright asked before he stared at Makoto's hands. They had fingerless black gloves on. "Is…that your 'wand'?"

"Yeah. They're called, 'The Magician's Gloves.' You can cast spells faster with it as long as you can perform the accompanying hand signals," she paused, " Hey wait, throughout this entire experience, you haven't used a single spell."

Wright blushed out of embarrassment, "It's because I can't remember the spells. Every time I try I always end up with the spell backfiring. Might as well not do at all than die trying." Makoto nodded.

"Well…we're okay now, I guess?" They stared at each other awkwardly.

"Uh…yeah. No more evil skeleton. Just…getting to the ladder now. You can hoist me up."

Makoto snorted, "And they say chivalry isn't dead."

"I'm just saying that once I'm on the ladder I can use my sword to help pull you up…wait, did you get any VICTORY! Messages yet on your screen?"

"No, you?"

"Umm…no."

With a terrifying blood curling cry, The Fatal Scythe leapt out of the burning smoke. In the blink of an eye, The Fatal Scythe cut through both of them. The blow knocked them through the air as they fell to the ground with a large THHMP. Wright gasped as his back flared up in agonizing pain.

 _He's still alive? How?_ Wright thought. Straining to get up, he looked over his side and saw that The Fatal Scythe was alive, but barely. It had only a last hit point left. He turned to check on Makoto and saw that she was dangerously close to dying as well. His own HP was barely staying above the red because his sword had taken the blunt of the attack. He could take a second hit, but Makoto was in the danger-zone. He had to get her out of here. He looked at The Fatal Scythe. It didn't move; staring at them with sadistic intent. Biting his tongue, Wright got up, and charged at The Fatal Scythe. It still didn't move an inch. Wright swung Kaliedoscope as far back as he could, and swang it right into the monster's side. His sword cut right through the skeleton, yet The Fatal Scythe didn't even flinch. The Fatal Scythe didn't even laugh as it raised it's scythe; ready to strike Wright down. He leapt to the side, except the attack was different from the others. This time, the scythe dug into the ground. It sprayed debris everywhere, and a huge chunk of it hit Wright in the back. He tumbled through the ground until he ended up back where he started. Right beside Makoto.

They couldn't win. Wright knew this now. With utter resignation, he reached into his pocket and took out his teleportation knife he'd gotten from Cometh. He positioned it above Makoto's back. He swung his arm up, and Makoto grabbed his hand.

"I know what you're doing," she calmly said.

"I don't think we can't beat this thing. We might need some yet-to-exist weapon to beat it. We might as well save ourselves,"

"And don't you too? These knives don't work even if the user stabs themselves. I'm not some damsel in distress," she gritted through her teeth. "I'm not somebody who needs to be carried by someone else…" Wright heard a tear drop as Makoto slowly got up, her back soiled in blood. "And I'm not going to quit just because someone says something is impossible. We're too close to escaping to be stopped, we've just got to try harder!" She ran at The Fatal Scythe. Still, it did not move, even when she lit her Scythes on fire. She went all claw-fury on it. The Fatal Scythe didn't even react. It simply grabbed her body and threw it beside Wright's.

"Makoto!" He yelled, his voice full of worry.

Bloody and barely alive, Makoto struggled to get up. She took out a health potion and drank.

"Look, Makoto, this thing is too high-level. What's the point in fighting it if we can't even beat it at this stage?" Wright said. Makoto finished drinking her potion and stared at Wright.

"What's the point in fighting?" Makoto said, "Wright. I don't want to press into your past, but you've lost some important things, right?" Wright nodded, "I'm still fighting, because I don't want to lose the thing most important to me; My determination to keep on going!" Makoto yelled. Once again, she ran head-first towards The Fatal Scythe. Wright just watched her helplessly.

 _She's doing it to prove her grit?_ Wright thought, _No, it's not just that._

 _She knows she can't win, or that she has a small chance of winning at all. She's determined to stay…determined. To always face something knowing it can be beat. That's, badass_

 _But it'll get her killed._ Wright thought of waiting for the opportunity to hit her with the teleportation knife, but before he could think anymore, he noticed a change in the skeleton's attack pattern. It was raising its scythe early, and to the right; anticipating Makoto's next move. As it expected, Makoto strafed left, and The Fatal Scythe began to swing. In mere moments, she would be cut in half.

Just

Like…

Before Wright could even think, he instinctively threw Kaleidoscope at The Fatal Scythe. Before the Scythe hit Makoto, a massive bright blue hunk of metal hit it in the side. The blow knocked The Fatal Scythe back. Makoto also took a step back, surprised at the sudden attack. At her side, Wright rushed past her using Peny (he had picked her up after their fall). Wright did a double-slash at The Fatal Scythe's cloak before bringing her up for a sharp upper-cut across its face. It was only after that attack did The Fatal Scythe finally scream and try to attack Wright. He nimbly avoided the swinging scythe as he landed back besides Makoto. She stared at him breathlessly.

"Thanks," she said.

"You welcome," Wright looked at Makoto, "you said you fought to stay determined or something like that?" Makoto nodded, "well, I'm going to fight to make sure you don't die while doing that."

Makoto smiled, "To battle?"

"To battle," Wright responded, as they both began to charge at a pissed off Fatal Scythe.


	6. Chapter 6: Wrapping things up, mostly

**Author's Note: This isn't the end of the overall story, but it is the end of 'Wright saving Klein' stuff, though any further advancements in the story will still be uploaded here. On another note, there are two important story events from here on out: one about Wright at IRL school (a look at this daily life,) and one about a competition against Lisbeth. I don't know yet which I'll do first, but if I do the latter first, then expect an empty chapter before that story, just to keep things chronologically accurate. Other than that, enjoy this several-days-away from a month story.**

* * *

Chapter 6: Wrapping things up.

Makoto ran Naruto-style towards The Fatal Scythe. It swiftly swung its scythe ahead of Makoto. She stopped just before the attack. Behind her, Wright leapt onto Makoto's back and jumpe d towards It's face. He trie to the length of his spear to hit its eye, but he missed it by a few inches.. The Fatal Scythe cackled, but not one of pain.

 _Its weakness has something to do with its face…_ Wright thought. He stuck Peny into The Fatal Scythe's side and vaulted himself behind The Fatal Scythe. It turned to confront him, but the Makoto clawed her way up its back. She reached for its head and stabbed one of its eye's. It screamed and tried to swat her off with its scythe. Makoto hung on; furiously clawing away at its eye until the deadly blade was just behind her. She jumped off as The Fatal Scythe stabbed itself through the neck. Unfortunately, despite its 1hp, it seemed to be in a state in which it could not take damage. Not even from itself. It quickly removed the scythe from its neck and charge towards them. Luckily, it wasn't the fastest skeleton in the West, and could only move in bursts of speed. As it did this, Makoto retreated and went to Wright.

"Are you noticing a pattern?" she asked.

"I think. Every time either of us attack its face it yells like it's in pain."

"And since its eyes have been a pretty big thing in the battle so far," Makoto continued, "The eyes might be the things that are keeping it alive. Also, its eyes are red; video game logic." True to her word, the once red circle that was the skeleton's pupils were now filled in the color red."

"True, but why didn't your weapons hurt it?' Makoto stared at the monster in deep thought. Realizing the answer, she made a gagging expression.

"Ew."

"What?"

"We might need to hit the eye multiple times. Either that, or we need to…remove them." Wright stared at her.

"Excuse me?"

"Look, we barely know anything about this boss. We don't know what we exactly have to do to the eye. So, best case scenario we rip its eyes out?"

He blinked at her. "That makes some…perverted sense. Let's me try attacking it first," Wright said. He charged at The Fatal Scythe. He faked a left, then leapt right as the monster missed him. He leapt onto the scythe's handle and swung onto its face. Wright stabbed Peny into The Fatal Scythe's right eye. The eye blinked, like a target on a radar, before it screamed, again. He let out a flurry of swipes before he landed. His attacks had been fruitless, and The Fatal Scythe was angrier than ever. _Dammit!_ He thought as he rolled back to Makoto.

"Okay we're going to have to rip its eyes out." Wright gagged, "gosh it's going to be bleeding a lot."

"Calm down. It'll just be red digital gashes," Makoto pointed out.

"Yeah," Wright replied, "no…blood." Makoto just sighed and ran at The Fatal Scythe. She threw her scythes forward and latched onto its shoulders. She pulled back at the chain and launched herself at its face. She kicked at it with her legs before pulling the grapple-scythe back to her. Mid-air, she plunged both scythes into both its eyes and pulled down. The Fatal Scythe screamed in pain and aimed its scythe towards its face. As it was about to attack Makoto, she jumped of the creature; the scythe's still attached to its eyeballs. On the ground, Makoto tugged at the chains connecting her arms to the scythes. She felt as if something was coming loose; as if the eyeballs were actually going to come out of its head. Clearly, the Fatal Scythe didn't want this. It swung its scythe as far back as possible; the weapon aiming for Makoto, and, inevitably, the chains. Before it could strike, she whipped both chains. A trail of red energy traveled from her wrists all the way to the Scythes. The scythe erupted in a magma explosion as the chains Makoto had been using melted into slag. The monster reeled back at the force of the explosion, yet Makoto's weapons, on the other hand, still remained stuck in The Fatal Scythe's eyes.

Makoto ran back to Wright; Cradling her right arm.

"Hothothothothot," she grimaced.

"Did your chain things just break?"

"Yeah. The Fatal Scythe was going to destroy it, so I decided to get one last hit in," Makoto rubbed at her arms. Though the chains that were wrapped around it had melted off, they had still left a nasty burn, "It'll heal…eventually. Other than that, I think we need more force to rip those eyes out,"

"How much are we talking about?"

"I don't know, a cannon? If given more time, I could eventually rip them out while you distracted it, but the bloody thing's too hard to stay on it, and…" she gestured to her scythes; still impaled in The Fatal Scythe's eyes, "The only other weapon I have is a bow. Specifically for long ranges." To Wright, If there was a bright side, The Fatal Scythe was now somewhat distracted with shaking its head until the annoying scythes would fall out of its eyes. Due to their shape, it wouldn't be coming off any time soon.

"Okay, so you need to find a way to launch yourself at it. Launch yourself…" Wright muttered. Suddenly, a lightbulb went off in his head. "I've got it!" He held his hand out and summoned Kaleidoscope back into his hands.

"What?"

"Makoto, get on my sword,"

"Well isn't that suggestive." Makoto joked

Wright slapped himself. "Just do it." Wright adjusted his sword so that it was like a flat platform. Realizing he was serious, Makoto jumped onto the sword and balanced herself on it.

"Okay, just listen," Wright began, "I have a thrust-type sword skill-forgot the name- but its pretty quick. I'm going to get as close to the Fatal Scythe as possible and activate this sword skill. When I do it, you have to jump on top of the blade to get the momentum to grab your scythe's back and rip its eye's out." Makoto stared at him.

"Are you mad?"

"Yup,"

Before she had a chance to protest, he positioned himself into a wide stance. With his sword cocked back, he activated the sword skill and thrusted forward; angling his sword up as he did so. Like last time, Wright was propelled several meters forward. What was supposed to happen was that Makoto would be propelled towards The Fatal Scythe; instead, she fell onto the ground.

"My bad!" she yelled, "my timing was off," she got back up. "I'll just jump onto it from here,"

In the distance, The Fatal Scythe had given up on ripping the weapons out of its eyes and was staring back at them. Wright could've sworn it blinked at them, confused. It slowly began its advance.

They waited for the sword skill to recharge and tried it again. Wright thrusted forward with his sword and Makoto angled herself for the launch. It was successful, except that Makoto didn't angle herself high enough and just slammed into the chest of The Fatal Scythe. It took the monster's AI several minutes before it realized that the UFO (unidentified flying object) was indeed a player. By that time she had run back to Wright.

"C'mon, c'mon," Makoto muttered to herself, sweat pouring down her face.

The timing for this trick was unforgiving. Makoto had to angle herself at just the right moment to get the height needed to reach the monster's head; they couldn't change the direction of the sword skill. In turn, Wright had to make sure he activated the skill at the time when Makoto's body was at the perfect inclination, whilst making sure his thrust didn't miss Makoto. They had to be synchronized.

After the sword skill recharged, they prepared for a third try. The Fatal Scythe, his AI at first confused at their attacks, was slowly realizing what they were doing. It stood at the ready; it's scythe guarding its right eye.

"Okay, third time's the charm, right?" Makoto began shaking her hands.

"Right. I'm going to count to three." Wright activated the sword skill. "Ready?"

"Ready!"

"Alright. One, Two."

"THREE!" they yelled together. Wright thrusted his sword forward just as Makoto jumped onto the tip of the blade. Thanks to this, she wasn't impaled, and was launched at The Fatal Scythe. She flew towards its face and grabbed one of her scythes with both arms. She had just enough height to clear its head, and barely slipped over its head. She crash-landed onto the ground, rolling several times before she came to a stop. Coughing, she stood up and examined her hands. In it was one of her scythes. And a very big eye. Behind her, The Fatal Scythe was screaming louder than it ever had before. Likewise, the last of its health bar flickered like a light being turned on and off. One more eye to go. Makoto wasted no time running back to Wright.

The Fatal Scythe, once imperturbable, began having the equivalent of a mental meltdown. It flew towards Makoto, screaming as it swiped at her with its scythe. She jumped over the initial attack but, taken off guard by its second attack. Makoto barely parried with her scythe before getting launched several meters away. Again. She crash landed into Wright; her HP in the red.

"Ow," she muttered as she got up. "Quick! We've got to do that again!"

"Don't you want to heal?"

"No time! He might do something different!" Hastily, she rushed to her position as Wright let his sword skill recharge. He pulled his sword back as far as it would go.

"Ready? Three, two one, FIRE!" they yelled together. Makoto jumped onto Wright's blade just as he thrusted it forward. She flew towards the skeleton; aiming for it's the right eye. The Fatal Scythe was learning though, and had the sharp end of its scythe covering its eye. She would hit it and get cut in half. With only seconds left, Makoto put her scythe in front of her and slammed it on the massive scythe as hard as she could. The force lifted her above the blade, but she was a bit higher than usual. She stretched out her arm; trying to grab the scythe. She barely managed to get a grip on it before she was suddenly yanked backwards like a paddle ball towards the creature. Since her previous move had made her lose momentum, she didn't have the force needed to rip out its eye. With this lack of momentum, Makoto now stood on the shoulder of a very pissed off skeleton.

She didn't waste a second as she used both hands to tug at the remaining scythe will all her might. The Fatal Scythe began flailing around, panicking. It tried to stab her, shake her off, scream so loud her eardrums should've popped. Likewise, the pain, fatigue, and soreness in her arms began reaching their climax. Despite this, Makoto pulled harder.

"Keep it up Makoto!" Wright yelled as he attacked The Fatal Scythe's lower half; slowly freezing it.

Slowly, due to fatigue and frost, The Fatal Scythe slowed down enough for Makoto to better position herself. Moving her legs into a wider stance, Makoto began pumping all the energy she could into lifting her scythe. Bit by bit, she felt the eyeball slowly come out of its socket.

"You can do it!" He yelled again. He tried to climb the skeleton to help her pull it out. Then he saw The Fatal Scythe slowly stretch its arms away from its body; scythe in hand. He was aiming it at Makoto. Wright stuck Kaleidoscope into the ground and, like an expert pole-vaulter, launched himself up to its head. The Fatal Scythe swung at Makoto just as he landed on the skeleton's shoulder and used the blunt side of his sword to block the attack. With a loud DING, the scythe collided with Wright's sword; the force of the impact almost knocking him off. Fortunately, the sword was large enough to spread the impact, as any other sword user would've found themselves flung aside like a toothpick.

"What are you doing?" Makoto yelled.

"Buying you time!" he grunted as the strain of holding back the scythe became unbearable. Wright looked over his shoulder to check on Makoto.

Makoto was groaning as she tried to pull her scythe out. She was too tired. The strain of everything that had happened so far must have finally overwhelmed her. Worse, she hadn't even drunk that Endurian juice.

 _It was probably her last one._ He bitterly thought to himself. Still, they had to do something. Think. If he let down his guard, the monster would skewer them both. If he tried to get on the skeleton himself, he wouldn't have much time to pull the eye out before getting impaled. If only Makoto could somehow pull it out…wait.

What If he could pull it out? As in now?

Wright looked at her. "Makoto, you have to get off,"

"Won't." she panted, " . . "

"Not an option," He wasn't sure this would work, but he tried getting the sword to freeze on just his left arm. Thankfully, it turned a light blue and slowly froze over his left arm. This essentially gave him a make-shift grip around his sword. The same kind used in shields. With great effort, Wright grabbed the handle of Makoto's scythe with his other arm; his left shaking at the immense pressure it was holding back.

He took several deep breaths before, with eyes closed, he purposely lost his footing. The force of the scythe knocked him into Makoto, causing her to fall off. Meanwhile, Wright still had his other hand on Makoto's scythe. Pain flared up both his arms as The Fatal Scythe furiously dug its scythe into his sword, while his other arm held onto Makoto's scythe; preventing him from falling off. He was using the skeleton's strength to help rip its eye out. It still wasn't enough though. He felt the eyeball come so close to coming off, but it just needed a little more force.

Grunting, he pulled himself closer towards the scythe. Meanwhile, The Fatal Scythe dug its scythe deeper into Wright's sword. With one last burst of power, he yelled as he brought his elbow and arm together. With a loud POP and SCREECH, the eye came off.

Everything was silent. Wright panted. He had done it, but why wasn't he falling? Now that the scythe was out of the skeleton, his last grip on the skeleton was gone. He should've fallen onto the ground, except he didn't. Wright looked at his chest.

The Fatal Scythe had been strong enough to pierce Kaleidoscope. The scythe now cut through a hole above the sword's middle line. Likewise, the scythe had cut him right through the chest. Wright turned to The Fatal Scythe; its eye sockets now empty. Wright was wordless as the two of them fell like an old tree towards the ground; dissipating into dust.

* * *

 _He opened his eyes and saw that he in an out-of-focus cavern. His whole body felt like it was floating in Jell-o. Wright looked around._

 _Where was he? He asked himself, until he saw a purple sign above him._

 _ **You Are Dead.**_

 _He began to feel a sick twist in his gut. His head began spinning as he found it hard to breathe; he couldn't control his lungs anymore. The thought of suffocating scared him stiff, literally; his body began to randomly shake. Desperately, he breathed in and out as the taste of bile began building in his throat. He…he…_

 _To his side, he saw a blood red figure run over to him. He couldn't identify her, but whoever it was pulled a small crystal, no wait, a small_ _flask_ _out of her pocket. She opened the lid and poured its contents over him. As she did, a blinding light began to consume him…_

* * *

and he was alive again.

His eyes shot open as the pain in his chest began to overwhelm him. He was still hyperventilating, and he couldn't seem to stop himself. Even the system was concerned; a sign on his screen warned him of his increased heart rate. Despite the black dots that began to dance over his eyes, all he could think was _Dammit, I'm making myself look like an idiot._

Much to his surprise, Makoto wasn't frozen in awe as she watched him. Instead, she pulled out a brown bag and shoved it at him.

"Put this to your mouth and breathe, slowly," Makoto ordered. Wright put the lid of it to his lips and began breathing in, and out. In, and out. In, and, out. Slowly, his breathing regulated, and he could finally feel his lungs breathe normally again. Wright let out a sigh as he put the bag aside and laid on the ground. He hadn't noticed this at first, but there was a stretched-out octagon sign above his head.

 _VICTORY!_

He stared at it in silence; the gravity of what he did slowly dawning on him. Funny enough, that wasn't his main focus at the moment.

"Why do you even have that?" Makoto looked off to the side as she sighed.

"Okay," she said, "I may or may not have had anxiety attacks early in ALO. It's the reason I bring that thing around. I don't do it anymore but, still, you never know."

"So…why play ALO?" Wright asked.

Makoto sighed. "You want me to explain?" Wright nodded his head. "Okay. Before I hated it when my character died in a video game. Either I hated losing or I felt like if I were in that situation _I_ would've died, I'm not really sure. Whatever the case, I eventually taught myself to get over it. Then ALO comes along and I really want to buy it. My childhood fear of a game over, combined with the most realistic video game of our time caused some problems." They were both silent.

"Well, at least you never gave up, right?" Wright half-joked. She smiled at him.

"You're right, I never did." She stuck out her arm. "Come on. We still have to get out of here." Wright took her arm and pulled himself up. Then he remembered that his sword had been pierced. Frantically, he looked around for it until he saw it right next to where he had died.

Instead of the massive goliath sword he was used to, there was now a double-handed longsword. It was made out of an iron-like metal that formed most of the sword, whilst a grey metal formed an arrowhead on the sword that made it heavier. Symmetrical and balanced, Wright picked it up.

"Wait. What happened to your sword?" Makoto said.

"Kaleidoscope's size was mostly due to the added material; a shell, you could say. The original blade wasn't damaged when the sword was pierced, so I guess it didn't break like normal swords I guess," Wright rubbed his hands along the length of the blade.

Makoto shook her head in agreement. "That makes sense, though it may need to be fixed-up a bit."

"Sure," Wright tried to put Kaleidoscope in the handle on his back and was pleased to discover the handle's size hadn't changed. It fit on his back like normal, though he might need to change the ring clamps attached to his shoulders, it made them feel sore. "Let's go."

"Wait…Do you hear that?" they both became silent. "It sounds like, clapping."

The two of them took out their weapons as the source of the clapping came out of the darkness. "I've got to say, that was AWESOME!" the clapper stepped out of the shadows.

She was a tall white female in brooding knight-like armor. Knight-like, because nearly the whole armor had sharp thorns protruding out of it. Her hair was tied up into two Princess Leia-like buns, and she had a double-bladed axe on her back. She walked towards them and held up her hand. "High five!" Makoto just stared, wordless. Meanwhile, Wright gladly went in for that much-needed high five. Then he realized he had just high fived an armed player in high tier armor.

"Um, who are you?" he asked. As if on cue, Makoto kneeled onto the ground.

"Miss Guinevere, how nice it is to see you," Wright looked at Makoto, then laughed. Then stopped laughing, then saw a name-tag above her head. _GUINEVERE_

Wright gave Guinevere a small wave. "Hi?" he said in a broken voice. She broke into laughter.

"Ohmygoshthisisridiculous," she laughed, "I'm not going to send you to the dungeons, just calm down." She looked at Makoto. "I'm just interested on how you both got here." Makoto looked at Guinevere, confused. She slowly got up.

"We fell down this trapdoor in this glitches part of the map we found," Makoto said.

Guinevere nodded, "yup, that makes sense."

"That may make sense to you," Wright interrupted. Makoto shook her head at Wright. He continued, regardless. "But why was that there in the first place?"

Suddenly, Miss stared at them furiously, "You dare question my actions!" Her voice became several octanes deeper Guinevere. "I will have you burned in the fiery pits of Musspelhiem for that!" She thrusted her arm out, preparing to cast some sort of horrible spell. Makoto dived towards the ground, and Wright dived on top of Makoto's back. Screaming, she threw him off her. Flustered, Wright ran several feet from her before he crouched into the fetal position, while Makoto laid stomach-flat on the ground; arms above her head. The cavern was near-silent. Then, the only sounds that could be heard was the resounding voice of Guinevere gave as she fell on to the ground in a fight of laughter.

"OHMYGOSHTHISISTOOPRECIOUSIHATETHATIDIDN'TFILMTHAT!" she laughed and laughed as Makoto and Wright slowly stood up.

"So…you aren't going to burn us?" Wright asked.

"No! Of course not!" she giggled, "It's against the rules, duh."

"But, at the meeting you…that guy," Makoto stammered.

"Oh that? That was just a stunt."

"What was a stunt?" Wright was extremely confused.

"Well, when that red-hair guy escaped, I stepped out of the bar and called everyone in the square about the bounty. When a random 'guy' asked me why I wanted them to catch this guy, I set him on fire while several skeletons pulled him into the ground." Wright turned to Makoto. She nodded her head.

"Of course," she continued, "It was just a test. That 'guy' was actually a GM in disguise. He was in the bar with me, and we agreed to test some of the game's animations whilst having some fun." Guinevere smiled. "Don't worry, we didn't break the GIPS rule (GM Interrupting Player's Session)." They both sighed in relief. "But speaking about the bounty," She turned to Makoto, ", have you gotten him yet?"

"Um," Makoto pursed her lips, "no? and I think I won't."

"Why not?" Guinevere and Wright asked simultaneously.

"Because…" she thought for a moment, "because I accepted your bounty for the thrill of combat," Makoto sighed, "and I'm just too tired to do anything now," she took a blue knife out of her pocket and tossed it at Guinevere. "This is yours."

"Thanks," she caught it and pulled up a menu bar simultaneously. She selected a special option on it and her HUD changed to a purple color. She put the knife onto the menu and pressed COLLECT. The HUD glowed for a few seconds before it dimmed, and she put the knife back in her pockets. "I'll look at that data later," she muttered, then turned to face them. "I guess I should say thanks,"

"For what?"

"Well, for completing this dungeon," she gestured to the area around her, "we had most of the dungeon finished, but we needed someone to test it. I guess you're just lucky that we had invisible cameras set up for a test run AND that you happened to be here at the right time to be the ones who get to do it." She pointed at her menu, "I was actually reviewing some of that data while you were fighting. Don't worry, the dev team at Ymir will iron out the flaws and make this dungeon play-ab-ble!"

"Yeah, like the skeleton boss," Makoto pointed at the shimmering VICTORY sign that they hadn't even touched yet. "Though I'm glad we beat it, that thing should've have been possible to fight with just two people,"

Guinevere nodded, "agreed. Its agro was too easily changed. And the fiery attack, though brilliantly done, shouldn't have made the skeleton scared. Its stats never said that it had any sort of vulnerability to fire," Guinevere muttered, "maybe it's from a past encounter?"

"Excuse me," Wright said, "did you say, past encounter?"

"Yes. ALO is pretty much a copy of Kayaba's revolutionary Cardinal code. When R8CT got the rights to it, it also got data regarding locations and certain monsters within the world; it's how we were able to replicate Aincrad."

"This dungeon was originally part of Aincrad, but we wanted to see if we could make it a special dungeon here. The mountain part might've been a bit too much, though," she waved her hand, and a notebook with a pencil popped up. "Note to self: Try putting entrance in a different location,"

"Okay Miss Guinevere," Makoto said, "we don't want to be rude, but we still need to sleep. So if you don't mind, we'll be going now,"

"Sure, just wait a moment," Guinevere walked towards the VICTORY sign. "Just have to finish one more thing," she swiped her hand and a virtual keyboard appeared in front of her. Her fingers danced across the board as she began typing in long strands of code. A minute later, she hit ENTER, and the VICTORY screen dissolved. "There. The VICTORY code now has permission to distribute loot, so you should be getting some items in your inventory."

"Seriously?" Wright opened his inventory and discovered he'd gotten some XP had increased. Furthermore, he now had several materials of 'Hollow Cloth,' an RNG classic common bow, and several other items you'd expect to find in a classic floor boss raid. "Sweet," Wright smiled, "but where's the final kill loot?"

"Oh, that thing?" Guinevere thought for a moment, "Well, which one of you ripped it's eyes out? I was too busy taking notes."

"Both of us; one for each eye," Makoto said.

"Well, we decided to mix it up with The Fatal Scythe; try out something new," Guinevere began, "we programmed the boss to give the final loot to whoever took out its eyes. Since you both did it, it's up to RNG to decide whoever gets it. No glitches or cheats will affect it," Guinevere patted her chest, "thanks to yours truly. Oh! And, by the way, it's a weapon," Wright checked his weapon slots, but he didn't see anything new. He looked over at Makoto. Her eyes were wide open.

"Ha! I've got it!" She playfully blew a raspberry at Wright as her fingers hovered over her new weapon. "It's called…The Final Scythe?" she looked at Guinevere; disappointment dotted across her face.

"Okay," she said, "okay, okay. This isn't even out yet so give me a break. How about… aha!" she pulled out her digital keyboard and began furiously typing. "What about this?"

Makoto checked the weapon again. This time it was called, "Sterfgeval," like it was a person. Makoto read its description:

 _Infused with the dark essence of The Final Scythe, it's almost as if its very heart-if it had one at all-still beats within it. 50% increase in physical damage for back attacks. When the opponent or user aren't illuminated in light, the weapon will deal double damage, and attacks will do purely magical damage. Note: Weapon is hard to use._

"Cool," Makoto muttered, "if only I was a freakin Sprign,"

"C'mon Makoto," he nudged her in the shoulder, "be optimistic. At the very least, the next time you're doing a bounty, you won't need sticky traps anymore."

"He's right. Besides, those traps may be nerfed later on. Too easy for Salamanders to get," Guinevere added.

Makoto smiled. "Well, you're the boss."

"No, I'm just the worker for the boss," Guinevere muttered, but no one heard her. Makoto raised her finger to equip the weapon. Then stopped. She noticed that Guinevere was anxiously biting her fingers; her body jittering up and down.

"What?"

"Oh, sorry. I'm the one who animated the equipping stuff…so." She crossed her fingers.

"Honestly, what do you _not_ do?" she asked her. Guinevere gave out a small laugh but said nothing more. Makoto had some worries about the GM, but she didn't ask. Personal business. She clicked the equip button. On her back, a scythe began to materialize.

It had a long black handle that split into two near the end. The two rods looped around the bladed part; the ends of which were a faded red. The blade itself was like a crescent moon cut in half; so delicately polished that it was almost as bright as the moon itself. Makoto unsheathed the weapon and stared at it, mesmerized.

"You like it?" Guinevere asked her, "We found out that it was already an attainable loot for defeating the boss, but we decided to keep its stats and look the same. I mean, I want to find the artist who worked for Kayaba, because it's just great. The way the blade seems to…" she kept babbling as Makoto gently rubbed her fingers along the blade. So sharp was the blade that it made a cut along her finger. She didn't notice. She kept rubbing it, feeling for a certain spot along the blade.

Wright wanted to stop her, but he didn't know what to do. Guinevere, too, noticed what Makoto was doing, and stopped talking.

"Hey," she asked, "are you alright?" Makoto didn't say anything. Silently, she opened her menu and selected QUIT. Her avatar disappeared into a cloud of digital particles, with only a single tear drop as the only evidence that she had ever been there. Wright stared speechlessly as Guinevere bit her lip.

"Um, sorry about your friend," she apologized, "is it something I said?"

"I," Wright whispered, "I, don't know. I think…I'll just head on to Legrue," Wright turned to the broken ladder. It wasn't broken for long, though, as Guinevere began using her GM powers to code back the broken bits.

"That needs to respawn," she muttered; the excitement mute from her voice. Wright didn't care. He was just…confused. Angry. Sad. Teenagey? He didn't want to think. He just wanted to move. So he began to walk towards the ladder. He hadn't even touched it before Guinevere said, "wait." He didn't turn around. He just heard her type a bunch of things on her keyboard before sighing. "Okay, I've removed that Falsaris symbol off your back." Wright immediately turned to face her.

"What?"

"The 'forgery' symbol. You think I didn't notice it?" he was speechless.

"But isn't that messing with another GM'S work?" he asked.

"Well. For one, the GM who gave you that symbol is now in jail. His judgement doesn't count. And two, If you've ever seen me on ALO's webpage (at the very bottom), I'm the only part-dutch employee at Ymir. Falsaris is a dutch word." She shrugged, "connect the dots."

"B-but," he stammered.

" 'but oh, isn't that reserved for hackers and what ev?'"she replied in his voice (she was awfully close to it) "well, we all deserve second chances, especially when our first chances were ruined by a D**che with a god-complex that constantly tried to make sure that his own balls were bigger than his ego" she muttered this so quick that he wasn't sure if he was talking to him, or if she was honestly lost in thought. Before he could ask, she waved at him, a sad smile on her face. "Cheers." Then she logged out of ALO.

In the space of a few minutes, Wright found himself alone. Surrounded by nothing but a void of nothing.

Nothing new. Struggling to accept that everything he had just experience was real, Wright began to climb the ladder towards freedom. Until…

He sneezed. Wiping his nose, Wright kept climbing.

* * *

Wright carefully stuck his head out of the manhole covering that, apparently, the ladder had lead up to. He was almost stabbed in the eye by some random guy. Wright ducked into the cover again.

"Dude, it opened for a bit!"

"No way!"

"Yes way!" The other guy said. "I knew chugging 10 pounds of bull elixir would open the sucker up!" Disengaged from the situation, Wright launched the manhole cover several feet aside, and climbed out of the whole. When he dusted himself off, he realized the situation he was in.

Sure enough, he was in one of many streets in Legrue. It just so happened he was in a street of exploiters; people trying their best to break the game. They stared at him in awe.

"Yo, sick exploit dude!" The teen who spoke to him wore thick sunglasses,beach shorts and a flowered summer shirt, despite the lack of any 'sun' in Legrue. He held out his hand. "High five!"

Tired, Wright returned the much-needed high five. He pointed at the open hole behind him "Knock yourselves out." Like children after several hours of fortnite and Ali-A videos drinking a can of red bull, they ran right over the hole. In their haste, they failed to notice how the man hole cover slowly came back to cover the hole. Smiling, Wright walked away. When he had walked several blocks away, he could've sworn he had heard a familiar banshee-cry, and someone screaming "Not radical dudes!"

But that could've just been him.

After several minutes, he realized he was supposed to be logging out now. But he wanted to check on last thing…

He opened his FRIEND list and noticed he hadn't sent a friend request to Makoto yet; they had just been temporarily partied. He wanted to reach out to her, but they were still strangers, and she might not be in the best mood. Maybe another time…

For now, he used it to check Klein's location. Thankfully, he had moved to the center of the city, but was now not moving. Again. Fearing the worst, he ran to Klein's position.

He jostled his way through the crowds of people (As an experiment, at night, the beta international servers and local servers combined processing power to prevent lag.) until he heard a familiar voice.

"I Demaneth that your fellowship tells us where the blacksmith is!" a valiant voice screamed.

"YEAH! WHATHESAID!" Eugene said. When Wright heard his voice, a slight tick developed in his right eye.

Wright tried to follow the sound of the commotion, but a small crowd blocked his path. Wright tried to push past the crowd of people, but while they were small, they blocked the only entrance to what was going on; as if they had been forced to move to one side.

"Excuse me, excuse me." He muttered.

One of the people in the crowd snorted, "get your own spot a**hole" and shoved him aside. He doesn't waste any time, and instead tries to find a bench to stand on. He finds one nearby and tries to use it to see over the crowd. It worked, and he was able to see what was going on.

Kirito, Klein, Lisbeth, and a bunch of their friends were surrounded by a small Salamander army. At the Salamander's front is Eugene; his elaborate gear somewhat down-turned for more run-of-the-mill army items. His elaborate sword was now replaced with a common broadsword. He points it threateningly at Kirito.

To add more spice to the mix, Cometh's group of knights was also there, with Cometh now in the same armor as his fellow knights. Cometh had placed himself in a protective stance; his shield ready as he used his sword to tell his group to stay back. Wright respected Cometh's more protective nature.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Kirito looked confused. "We've just been waiting here for someone…who was it again?" _Wait,_ Wright thought, _they're waiting for someone?_

Klein gulped, "Um, yeah, it was that Wright guy I was talking about. He's also a blacksmith."

"A blacksmith?" Agil pretended to pout, "Man, I thought I was you were my main customer!"

"It wasn't for a weapon," Klein sighed.

"Yeah!" one of Cometh's soldiers yelled, becoming so bold as to cross Cometh's guard, "it was to save his sorry little $$!"

Cometh grabbed the soldier by the shoulders, "I think the sleep deprivation's getting to you, starchbottom,"

Meanwhile, Kirito looked unfazed by the half-truth. "So what if he needed help? I ask Asuna to help me on missions all the time," Beside him, Asuna blushed until her entire face was red.

"Aww, you didn't have t…"

"Yeah! And how I ask him to help me get rare items for my shop!" Lisbeth furiously grabbed Kirito by the arm, as if thinking she was in some far, far away alternate reality where they were a couple. Now it was Kirito's turn to look flustered.

"So you want to protect him?" Eugene yelled, "So you don't want to know why they teamed up in the first place?"

"I don't think it'd matter, he's still my friend." Kirito said plainly, as if he didn't know about…

Klein's…

Bounty….

Sensing what was about to happen, Wright backed up on the bench.

"Please work, please work," he muttered. He ran towards the end of the bench and jumped. Of course, he wouldn't get enough air to jump over the crowd, but that wasn't his plan. He aimed for the jerk that had pushed him aside and leaped onto his back. Startled, the man almost toppled over before he was able to jump over the crowd of people, and towards the space where the commotion was taking place.

"Alright," he said, then chuckled slightly "it's just funny that you don't know that right now, Klein is worth 5 AGHH" Wright's fist slammed into Eugene's face, toppling the man over. It was in a safe zone, and Eugene didn't have a bounty on him, so no actual damage was taken. Still, a meaty knuckle sandwich still hurts. Realizing that he was in the middle of a Mexican standoff, he decided to treat the situation as calmly as possible.

"EVERYONE SHUT UP I HAVE ALL YOUR STUFF AND I'M GOING TO GIVE IT BACK TO YOU!" Wright 'calmly' yelled at everyone. Likewise, everyone stared back at him. He wasn't a center-of-everyone's-attention type of person, so to say that sweat was pouring down his back like a river would be an understatement.

"Who is that guy?" somebody muttered.

"Probably some random trying to cash in on the moment."

"That F ( $#!" the guy he had jumped on tried to get to him, but somebody held him back.

"Wait dude, let's see what happens," the other guy told him.

"Yup, this is the guy alright," Eugene slowly got up. "Let's see what the hacker does."

"Hacker?" Kirito asked.

"Yeah! He's got that hacker symbol on his back and everything! I was trying to take him out because of that!" Eugene pointed at Wright back. "See what it reads?"

"Um…what hacker symbol?" he asked, showing his back to Kirito.

"Yes. What 'hacker' symbol?" Kirito shook his head, "I don't see it?" Wright's face lit up.

"W-hat?" Eugene stammered. He walked over to Wright. He checked his chest, back, everywhere. Desperate, he even lifted up the back of his clothes.

"Hey! Pervert much?" the jerk yelled, though Wright's back wasn't completely clean, though. There was a black tattoo that read 償還 (shokan)

Eugene's cheeks flustered with embarrassment. "Oh, wow. Um…really sorry for being all high and mighty. I thought you were a…you know…a hacker based off the tattoo thing. Still, could've sworn that it had been glowing and everything before. I was just being…"

Wright patted him on the shoulder, "Its okay. If it makes you feel any better, I sometimes forget who people are. Like, a lot." Eugene smiled.

"Thanks, I guess,"

"Ahem," Cometh coughed, "If I was hearing right, you're going to give our stuff back? For free?" Cometh asked.

"Yeah," Wright sighed, "Look, at the end of the day, we can't all hate and hunt each other forever. So," Wright opened his inventory. He took out Cometh's weapon and walked over to him. He handed the handle to Cometh. Smiling, Cometh took the sword and playfully punched Wright in the chest.

"The blacksmith is right! At the end, we're all ALO players! So let us enjoy our game! And our rest!" the group behind him, hesitant at Wright's actions, joined in the cheering.

"Oh and," Cometh whispered to Wright, "What's your name?"

"Wright," he whispered.

"Ah yes," Cometh turned to face his comrades. "Let us celebrate the generosity, of the blacksmith, Wright!" The knights cheered again. The on-looking crowd dismissed the scene as some weird get-together and left. The Salamanders were left star-eyed at the vast amount of loot Wright was calmly passing around. They didn't try and steal any of it. None of this squad had lost any gear, nor did any of them want to steal any. That wasn't right. So they awkwardly hung to the side until somebody called for a selfie, and the heavily armored knights all fumbled to get into the best selfie poses possible. Except for Eugene. Slowly, he walked to where Wright was passing out armor and weapons. Without batting an eye, Wright equipped Gram, and handed the weapon to him.

"Just so you know, I'm doing this so all of you don't try to constantly kill me, and" Wright paused, looking at all the smiling faces, "because I think we started off on the wrong foot."

"Including mel?"

"Yeah," Wright said, "though I still think you were a jerk for kidnapping Lisbeth,"

"I know," Eugene muttered, "but what about Klein? He tried making out with an unwilling random stranger,"

"I know that," Wright sighed, "But everyone deserves a second at least once." He took another item out of his inventory and gave it to Eugene.

"What's this, bug spray?"

"It's what I used against you. You should think of another spell, or try some work-around this thing," Wright replied. "And yes, I think Klein was an idiot, but he's more than just an idiot." Wright stared at Klein as he talked to Kirito, probably about how this was all a total misunderstanding. Next to Kirito, Lisbeth tried not to grin at Klein's 'truth'. To Kirito's other side, Asuna rolled her eyes every time Klein's face tried to mimic Asuna screaming.

"If I had known that before, I would've let him ride on my back since the very beginning," Wright said.

Wright rubbed the dust from his eyes as the crowd of players got their items and logged out of the game. He was sitting on a bench, not quite ready to log out yet, when Klein came over to him.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey," Wright replied. Klein awkwardly dug his hands into his pockets.

"So…I told Kirito everything that happened."

"Really?"

"Yeah. If I want to improve myself, I have to stop lying to my friends and trust that, as my friends, they'll understand." Wright smiled at Klein.

"Good job," he said.

"Yeah, well, not like it would've mattered anyway," Klein muttered. "The damn sword we were going for wasn't even opened yet."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. Kirito thought he had the whole thing figure out, except he didn't."

"There's a first for everything," Wright joked.

"Ha, yeah," Klein turned to his group of friends. They were all talking to each other, just like any normal group of people in the real world. "Anyway, we don't know when the dungeon opens, but we'll call if you want to join,"

"But why did you wait for me?" he asked Klein. "And what if I didn't make it?"

"Well," Klein said, "when we found out that the dungeon was locked, we all wanted to log out, but I didn't, saying I wanted to wait for you. I didn't believe it when they said they'd wait with me." Klein smiled, "Besides, I knew you'd make it."

"What assurance did you have?"

"One. It was you."

"Are you actually trusting a stranger you've only met online? Didn't they say something about this in 2001?"

"Yeah. I guess getting trapped for 2 years in a video game can do that to you," Klein muttered. "Say, can I ask you a quick question?"

"Sure,"

"Were you trapped in SAO?"

Wright stopped to think about the question, before he said, "Yes,"

"Really! Me too! Did you join a guild with anyone?"

"Yes,"

"What was your team name, and how many players?"

"We were the:  
デザートマッチ傭兵 (dessert munching mercenaries)"

Klein stared at him, "What?"

"Yeah, most of us loved food. And there were four of us, myself included, so we had more liberties with our guild name."

"Wow. It must've been tough to be in a 4-man guild. There were…about 7 people in my guild. Thankfully, we all made it out…" He looked at Wright's distant face, "alive." Silently, Klein sat down next to him. "How did they die?"

"I…" Wright began, "I…don't even know if…" he sighed, "look, I don't want to talk about it."

Klein was about to go on, then he too stopped. "Yeah. I have no right to ask you about that. I mean," Klein stared at the ground, "I was too embarrassed just to tell my friends about the bounty."

Wright didn't say anything. Uncomfortable at the sudden shift of mood, he dug his hands into his pockets. There, he felt a something…small. He pulled it out. It was a folded letter. He opened it up:

" _Dear Wright._

 _Omg I forgot to also tell you this. I've come to terms as to what Klein did. I would be lying if I said I hadn't seen people get drunk before and I can tell you, it's hard to control yourself. I also realize I've been a jerk for asking help from others for my own problems. I should've tracked Klein down myself instead of torturing him like that. Not saying I entirely forgive him for trying to kiss me (_ Wright had to read that line twice), _but I've put it in the past. I'm willing to give him a second chance. So I've canceled his 2 day bounty to 0 days. You're welcome._

 _From, Miss Guinevere_

 _BTW tell him I already have a crush on somebody so PLZ tell him to not flirt with me again."_

Smiling, Wright handed the piece of paper to Klein. "Speaking of that bounty," he said. Klein took the paper and began reading. His face changed from confusion to relief, realization, and finally to shock.

"Where did you get this from?" He asked him.

"Just from the GM herself,"

Before Klein could answer, Klein's group of friends finally came over to them, ending their private conversation. At their front was the leader Kirito. He held out his hand to Wright.

"Thanks for protecting my friend," he said.

"No problem," Wright replied, taking Kirito's hand, "I'm Wright."

"Kirito. Look, sorry I had to make you and Klein rush to get here, but if it'll make things up to you, I'll message you when the dungeon is actually open."

"Thanks," Wright slowly stood up. "I'd like that, but now I've got to sleep." He pulled up his menu; fingers hovering over the LOG OUT button. "One question, what is the dungeon for?"

"Ah, nothing," Klein said, flustered. "It's just this weapon I've been wanting to get for a while. Some sword called 'Spirit Blade Kanedzuchi' Wright paused.

"Wait, that its name?"  
"Yes,"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!" Klein said. "What, is there something you've been looking for?"

Wright took a second before responding. "Yes." And as Klein's friends looked to him for an answer, Wright pressed the button, and the world disappeared before his very eyes.

* * *

He opened his eyes in a dim lit room. It always took him a second to figure out that he was IRL. Blinking the dust of out his eyes, Wright took the VR glasses off his head, and laid them next to an old NERVE gear helmet. He took some time to survey his surroundings.

His apartment was somewhat small. It was shaped like an upside L: the kitchen at the front door, the living room in the door next to it, and his bedroom in the front. All of them had little to no personal possessions besides some posters, family pictures, and an old PS4 with several game discs. Though he hadn't played those type of video games for quite a while. He was still restless, so he walked through all the rooms; checking to see if anything had changed.

One thing had. Above the refrigerator, there was a clock that now shown 2:00 AM. He had to get to bed before school started. Which was funny; today was the last day of school before summer. Usually, he would've jumped at the excitement of such an achievement. But in Japan, the day before summer vacation wasn't the last day of school. It was just the end of the first term. So…he hadn't moved up a grade yet. Moaning, Wright made his way back to his room. He was about to flop back onto his bed, but before he could wallow in the sweet embrace of the blankets, he saw a board in the far corner. It wasn't anything new. On it, there were several photos and words of random people he had met, whether they were IRL or in a VRMMORPG. Where he couldn't get photos, he got descriptions. They were all held up by cheap refrigerator magnets.

It had been during a time when he had been obsessed with finding her. Eventually, though, he began forgetting some special features about her. All he remembered now was her eyes.

Sighing, and knowing that it was already useless, he walked over to the board. He pulled out an empty sheet of paper, and a random piece of tape, and stuck it on the board. He took a marker off the board, already covered in dust, and he wrote on the new sheet of paper.

 _Makoto. Also Amber eyes._

 _Possible fit?_

Wright searched his memory for any resemblance Makoto had to her. He sighed.

 _Unknown._

His curiosity sated, he jumped onto his bed and fell fast asleep.

* * *

 _The End…_

 _Until the narrator decides adding another 8,440 words to a story isn't enough and tries to go for 10,000 not because of length, but because short chapters kind of suck in his opinion. Unless they're for comedic shorts. What? This is over 8,533 words already? 8,536? Somebody has to st-_


End file.
